Fergus the Dog and his little brother, Ryder!!!!

Busy summer so far

2009-07-15T12:48:00.005-05:00

Well, things sure have been busy around here.

We have had a few Dockdogs events and a few agility trials as well as a birthday.

My little brother turned 2 at the beginning of June. It was a really good birthday too.

The food people took us to Dairy Queen for ice cream AND they took us out to dinner

where we got to share a yummy cheeseburger on the patio of one of our favorite restaurants.

We travelled to Dubuque, Iowa for some Dockdoggin'.

It was fun, but I just wasn't feeling right.

My stride was way off and I was leaving the dock 3 to 4 feet early.

My jumps weren't nearly as far as usual.

The food people have been trying to figure it out.

Oh well, we still had fun with our friends.

Next up was a 3 day agility trial by Grandma's house.

Now, if you all remember, the last weekend of June has always been very bad for the F dog.

Two years ago I broke my tail and last year I sliced my leg open.

Well, the food people threatened to wrap me in bubble wrap for the weekend.

Thank goodness they didn't. I was very cautious and didn't hurt myself.

So, back to the trial, I ran really nicely all weekend. Lots of good contacts and nice weave poles.

However, that damn propeller tail of mine caused some knocked bars.

My Aunt Kris took the scissors to my tail and made me look like a fancy show dog.

I like it though. I look much more handsome. (I know, impossible, huh?)

Ryder had has debut weekend in the 24" Novice class.

He did awesome.

I am super proud of my baby brother.

He picked up 2 Novice JWW legs and 2 Novice Standard legs.

You should have seen his teeter!! He owned it!!

Way to go little brother.

Fourth of July weekend was some more Dockdogs.

The weather was great, the friends were even better.

My jumping is still off, but I managed to make Senior finals with the food lady and

Ryder and the food man made Novice finals.

It was a fun weekend to just hang out and have fun.

So, this past weekend was more agility.

The food lady had a new plan with me.

I liked the food lady's new plan.

I am wondering why she didn't come up with this sooner.

Want to know what it was?

Get this, the plan was to RUN.

Can you believe that???

We had a BLAST!!!

She needs to stop babying me and just let me RUN.

I only got 1 Q this weekend, but holy cow, everyone was telling the food people

that they had never seen me run like that before.

It felt really good. Just a knocked bar here and there.

I was a very good boy.

Ryder got to play this weekend too.

He did alright I guess. *wink*

He finished his Novice JWW title and his Novice Standard title.

He also got his first Open Standard leg.

I hope he doesn't think he is better than me.

Because he's not. I am still the King around these parts.

But seriously guys, I am really proud of my brother. He is a very good boy.

We have some more agility next weekend.

Friday is Excellent only so the baby brother doesn't get to play. Poor baby brother.

But he does get to play on Saturday and Sunday.

Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks.

Ryder was in the Waukesha newspaper:

Then I had to one up him and make the front page of the Dubuque Newspaper the following weekend. I don't want him thinking he is the only one getting any media attention.

Here is Ryder at a trial we did in May.

He kind of looks like he knows what he is doing.

Waukesha, WI Dockdogs

2009-06-09T12:24:00.005-05:00

Another awesome weekend. The food people sure are doing things right so far this summer!

We went up to Waukesha, WI for an event put on by the Wisconsin Dockdogs Club.

Lots of great people and we got to stay with my Uncle Kevin and my cousin, Ollie. (OK, Kevin isn't really my uncle and Ollie isn't really my cousin, but who's counting?)

We got there Friday afternoon and helped set up the pool. Sadly, I had to sit in the car and wait. I was not pleased about this. When they finally got done, the food lady convinced the food man that I should get to take a few practice jumps. Whew, it was worth the wait.

Saturday morning we were up and at 'em pretty early.

I jumped the first wave with the food lady and guess what? Yep, I caught it again. We had a personal best of 19' 9" on that jump.

The food man played with Ryder in the first wave and he did great!!

The rest of the day I jumped for the food man. He is doing a much better job of throwing my duck these days which makes me very happy.

Ryder spent the rest of the day jumping for the food lady. He gets very nervous with all the loud music and people, so the Wisconsin people were nice enough to turn the music off and tell everyone to be quiet. Still some hesitation jumping, but he is getting a little faster. Good boy little brother.

Sunday rolled around and we had 2 more waves left to jump. Ryder and the food man jumped a 9' 6" to secure themselves a spot in the novice finals. The food lady jumped me again and we set another personal best: 20' 10"!!! Way to go food lady to not screw me up. So proud of her.

Finals were that afternoon, Ryder and the food man took home 2Nd place in Novice finals and I took home 4Th place in Master finals.

I am being a total show off in this picture.

Oh Ryder :)

Ahem, Ryder is getting some press now too.
He made the Milwaukee newspaper.
I hope he doesn't start getting too big for his britches.
There is only so much room for rockstars in our house.

We are heading out to Dubuque, Iowa on Friday for another Dockdogs event. I can't wait to strut my stuff again. I am good like that.

Lots of updates

2009-06-01T10:14:00.003-05:00

Whew, it's been a whirlwind few weeks for everyone's favorite golden and his trusty sidekick.

We have been playing lots of agility and even got do some Dockdogs too.

This past weekend the food people to took us to a trial in Naperville.

It's a very nice facility other than the fact that it was about 1000 degrees inside. Which you all know is WAY TOO hot for the F Dog. But I pushed through and had some great runs.

I picked up a couple of Q's and a few MACh points. The food lady tried some different things with me this weekend and I think they might have worked. She started with me for my runs which I was really happy about. I don't think I like when she leaves me. It makes me a bit nervous. She also didn't baby me with my weave poles. Leave me alone food lady, I got it!!!

Ryder has some really nice runs too. He is doing a great job and having lots of fun. He kept trying to do the teeter, but we all know what a pansy he is and he isn't quite ready for a full height teeter.

Last weekend we did agility at the same place. Again, I had some good runs and some brain farts. But I am assuming all the brain farts will be gone but the time I am 5. :)

Ryder did a nice job last weekend too. 3 of his sisters were there last weekend too. They played agility too. He is the cutest one though. OH!!! I almost forgot. My friend Lori Sue asked the food lady to run her Aussie, Addie. I wasn't happy about this. The food lady should only play agility with me. But anywho, the food lady ran Addie and when they were done, my friend Sue runs into the ring with a fancy, sparkly bar and big huge ribbon. The food lady and Addie were really confused. Apparently this run was for Addie's MACh 6. The food lady almost pooped her pants. It was really nice of Lori Sue to let the food lady "get a MACh". That's what agility is all about, friendship and support. The food lady cried (shocker, I know). Lori Sue really likes me and my brother for some reason. Actually, I know why. When I was younger and much more immature, we were at a trial and I broke out of my crate and ran into the ring when Lori Sue was running Ryder's favorite Border Collie, Lit. The food lady was devastated and crying like a baby. Lori Sue told her it was OK, no harm, no foul. They have been good friends ever since. It's great to have good friends at agility.

Lastly, we had some Dockdogs to take care of. It was a ton of fun and the weather was amazing that weekend. Lots of my friends came out to jump. Dylan, Rumor, Marley, PJ (she jumped!!), Frankie, Ruby. It was fun to see my friends and show off. The food man and I placed 2Nd in the Masters Finals and Ryder took 4Th in the novice finals. The food lady even got to jump me and I caught my duck!!!! TWICE. It was really cool. I love playing Dockdogs. Word on the street is we are playing it the next 2 weekends.

For once, the food lady didn't screw up!!!

YEEHAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ryder doesn't have quite the same jumping form as I do.

NOCI May 2009

2009-05-08T07:56:00.002-05:00

What a weekend for the hippy labs!! We got to the trial early on Friday morning. I got to run Standard first. It was a tough course and I decided to take the off course table. I love the table, it was right there, how could I possibly pass it by? The rest of my run was pretty memorable as well, I took the wrong end of of 2 tunnels and I did the table 2 more times. I think the judge's arms were pretty sore after my run. Next up was Jumpers, I was running and running and almost to the end when my propeller tail knocked a bar. Bummer. But that's OK!!

After I was done running, it was Ryder's turn!! He got to run Jumpers first and he did great!! He got his very first Q and a 2Nd place!! Way to go Ryder!! When it was time for Standard the food lady made a quick and easy course for him since he is still a little hesitant on the teeter. I heard he hit and held all his contacts and did a new scary chute!!! So proud of my baby brother.

Saturday morning we headed back to the trial after a sleep over at the yellow labs house. I was pretty tired but somehow got through my Standard run clean. Jumpers was a close one, I was so tired and it was kind of a tight course for a big dog so I didn't make time. Farts.

Ryder ran Jumpers again and kicked some butt!!! He got another Q and a 1st place!!! So happy for my baby brother. He waited a long time and was a very good boy so the food lady let him run all of the Standard course except for the teeter. I guess he looked at it and wanted to do it but the food lady called him off.

Sunday morning didn't start out very well. When we were walking into the building I growled at a dog. That's all though, just a growl, the dog was staring me down and I needed to make sure they knew I was the boss. Well, the food lady felt really bad about my growling and apologized to the lady. She was really mean to the food lady and would not accept her apology. The food lady was really upset and crying. I decided I needed to be an extra good boy to make the food lady feel better. Well, I showed her!! I ran a nice, clean Standard run AND I ran a nice, clean Jumpers run!!! You guys know what that means??? Yep, I got my very first QQ!!!! Everyone cheered so loudly for me after my JWW run. I think I made the food lady very happy. I did the best I could.

Ryder was up next in Jumpers, and the little man kicked some more butt!! He Q'd and got another blue ribbon and finished his Novice Jumpers Preferred (NJP) title. What a good little boy he is. I am really proud of Ryder, he did a very nice job this weekend. His confidence is much better and he is doing great in class too.

This weekend we are heading down to see my Grandma. (You know, the Grandma that likes to share her ham sandwiches with me!) Next weekend we have some Dockdogs and then a couple weekends of agility. I can't wait. Summer is here!!!!

Contact Sports USDAA trial April 25-26, 2009

2009-04-27T11:55:00.002-05:00

Another fun weekend with the food people and my dog friends :)

Here is a rundown of my runs (keep in mind it was hot out and I was really tired since I refused to take a nap on Friday, I was too busy working on my tan)

Saturday

Run 1: Steeplechase: This was sooooo much fun. I nailed my entrance on the weaves and moved through them fairly quickly for being at a trial (you all know how much the weaves stress me out at trials) then there were a bunch of jumps and get this, the weaves - AGAIN. What???? I already did these food lady. I missed my entrance since surely I would never be asked to do weave poles TWICE in one run. The food lady sent me back and I finished them. As we were finishing the run the food lady raced ahead of me and I tried to catch and I knocked a bar. That's OK though, it was lots of fun to run

Run 2: Advanced Gamblers: I don't really like this game. Why is the food lady sending me away from her? She worked so hard teaching me stay WITH her now she is asking me to go away? I don't think so food lady. :)

Run 3: Grand Prix: This course was really tough. It was fun though, I ran against some really awesome dogs. As I landed after the 3rd jump I thought someone had dropped some cheese on the floor so I had to check, it was nothing and I continued on. I ran clean but did not get a qualifier. That's OK, the food lady and I worked really well together on that course.

Run 4: Advanced Standard: More weave poles? Come on lady, you should know by now that I only have 2 sets of weaves in me a day and I had already done 3 sets. I sucked it up though and got my weaves, hit my contacts and didn't drop any bars. Q for the F dog :)

After we left the trial we went to my Aunt Whitney's house. Ryder and I did lots of wrestling and next thing you know we are both covered in blood. One of us must have bit our tongue. Oops. We are OK though. Early to bed, we had a big day on Sunday.

Sunday
Run 1: Advanced Gamblers: This is not my best subject as I explained earlier. This time the gamble was a tunnel, teeter, jump, triple. I spent an enormous amount of time on my second Aframe pass. The angle is a bit too steep for me in USDAA and I am not nearly as efficient on this Aframe as the lower one I am used to. But get this, I got the gamble and got my first Advanced Gambler's Q. yea!!

Run 2: Advanced Standard: Another tough course with a hard weave entrance, I broke my stay at the start line (oops, I was just tired of waiting) so the food lady wasn't in position, and I went really wide, I did save the entrance though and got all my weaves. I was running and running and then there was that really tall Aframe again. I spent several seconds mountain goating before my descent and it cost a lot of time. I ran clean but was .22 seconds overtime. Too much farting around on the Aframe :)

Run 3: Advanced Pairs: This game is so much fun. I always get to run with my friends. Today I ran with Remi, Alex and Abby's little brother. We had so much fun, and I really made the food lady mad. I had the Aframe on my half of the course and I didn't fool around this time! Ha ha food lady, that's your payback for making me do all those weave poles yesterday :) Remi and I got our Q and took 2nd place. Thanks Remi!!!

Run 4: Advanced Jumpers: OK, 8 runs? Two days? I was pooped for this one. I ran my little heart out though with the food lady. After my run we ran over to my xpen and I got my dinner. What a great reward for me!!!! I also got a 1st place and a Q.

All in all, it was such a fun weekend. All my friends were there and cheered for me and told me I did a great job. All my dog friends did awesome too.

I think we are going to play agility again this weekend too!!! Ryder gets to play too. I can't wait to cheer him on.

RACE USDAA trial April 4-5, 2009

2009-04-06T10:49:00.002-05:00

What are the food people thinking taking me to agility 2 weekends in a row?? Just kidding, I was more than happy to go and play agility again this weekend. The only thing I wasn't happy about was getting up so early Saturday morning to leave.

So, here is a rundown of my weekend:

Run 1 - Advanced Standard: There was an itty bitty, teeny tiny chute. The food lady tried to call me off the teeny tiny chute but I chose not to listen to her. I almost got stuck. Got my weave entrance, didn't knock any bars. I think I had an off course jump at the end.

Run 2 - Advanced Gamblers: I did the teeter twice????? I don't like when the food lady makes courses up. :) The gamble was too much for me so we didn't get it. But it was fun anyhow.

Run 3 - Advanced Pairs: I got to play pairs with my friend Alex again. We always have a good time. However, I guess because I took an extra jump at the end of my half of the run it didn't count. Bummer. Good thing Alex didn't get mad at me. We had fun though. I got my weave entrance and didn't knock any bars!

Run 4 - Advanced Snooker: I really don't like Snooker. It's way too herky jerky and doesn't make sense. I knocked the first red jump and the food lady got all confused and just stood there. Since she didn't tell me what to do, I decided to do some jumps on my own accord. Then the judge blew his whistle and our game was over. Oh well.

Run 5 - Advanced Jumpers; OK, really?? 5 runs in a day??? I was so very tired by the time I had to run. But I mustered up enough energy to run clean and get a 2nd place behind Captain Jack.

After the trial, we went to my Aunt Whitney's. Guess what we did? Yep, ran around in the yard like maniacs. No one told me I had to get up early again the next day.

Sunday Runs

Run 1 - Advanced Standard: Knocked a bar and I didn't get the upside contact on the Dogwalk. I don't know how they expect a big ole dog like me to hit it. Oh well. I did get my weaves though

Run 2 - Advanced Gamblers: this was a fun run but the teeter twice again??? Fun stuff. I decided to hang out on the top of the AFrame for awhile too. You know, take in the scenery. I was still doing my gamble when the buzzer went off, but that's OK.

Run 3 - Advanced Snooker: Alright, I was so stinking tired by this run I barely got through it. I think I had the slowest 1st place Snooker Q in history.

Run 4 - Advanced Jumpers: You thought I was tired for Snooker, I was even more tired for this. I dropped a bar, but that's OK. I was such a good boy.

So all in all the food lady was really happy with how I did this weekend. I had really good start lines (I let the food lady take really long lead outs for once), I got all my weave entrances and didn't pop any poles and I only dropped a few bars.

No agility trials for a couple weeks. Thank goodness. I need to catch up on some much needed beauty rest. I think we are going to Grandma's this weekend so Ryder and I can swim to our hearts content. That will be great. I really miss the lake.

Fox Valley Agility Trial

2009-03-29T19:07:00.002-05:00

Another fun weekend was had by all. Friday night the food people took us to my Aunt Whitney and Uncle Grant's house. We got to run wild in the backyard for a couple hours. YAHOO

Saturday morning we got up way too early for my liking. However, little did I know where we were heading: AGILITY. I got to play JWW first with the food lady. I was kind of tired so I wasn't super fast, but I got the job and so did the food lady. I got my very first MXJ leg. Next up was standard. I was running and running, got to the Aframe and I didn't hold my contact. The food lady told me I was very naughty. When I got to the weave poles a couple obstacles later, I smelled something. I had to find out what it was. My eyes bugged out and my nose went a mile in the air. I think it was coming from the judge. I had to check. I waltzed on over to her and gave her a good, long sniff. The food lady was not happy with me. How could she not smell the judge's fart??? That's what it had to be or else she was wearing some pastrami panties or something. :) I finished nicely though and everyone had a good chuckle about the bad smell in the ring.

Saturday night there was a whole mess of dogs playing at the yellow labs house: me, Ryder, Abby, Alex, Remi, Dylan, Rumor, Neo, Wisp, Scout, Zane and Ricochet. We had so much fun running and wrestling in the yard. We were all very tired and most of the humans were loaded.

Back to agility Sunday morning and I was pooped. I decided that I didn't want to hold my start line so the food lady was about an hour late on her front cross and I dropped the bar. However, the rest of my run was really nice and I had really good weave poles. And the judge didn't fart this time thank goodness :) Standard was a little while later and I was ready to run. The food lady once again opened her trap and I knocked the triple. The rest of my run was fantastic and I held all my contacts and got the tough weave entrance. I got a double cheeseburger on the way home

My friend Abby, got her MACh today. It was really special. Everyone was crying and cheering. I am so happy for my Aunt Whitney and Abby. They are a great team and always run fast and clean. Congrats again to my friend Abby Jo Kickass!!!!

Ryder is all recovered and ready to go again. He has 3 AKC trials lined up for May. This weekend we are going to play USDAA agility. Ryder isn't ready for that quite yet so he will get to hang out and eat lots of cheese at the practice jump. Our trainer says Ryder's jumping is getting tons better and they are working on his teeter. I feel kind of bad for him that he didn't get to play this weekend. He will get to play soon and make me proud. I am sure of it. :)

Some new pics

2009-03-23T10:09:00.014-05:00

Smack Dab Agility Trial Feb. 27 - Mar 1

2009-03-03T10:03:00.003-06:00

We haven't done any agility trials since New Year's. I was itching to get back out there and show everyone what a good boy I am. It was a nice break, but I love going to trials and seeing all my friends. I love to hear them cheer for me and pet me and feed me. It's like a dream come true.

My weekend started off with a great JWW run and I finally finished my AXJ title. The food lady was very happy and I was quite pleased with myself hearing everyone scream after I cleared the last jump. I got lots of treats and everyone told me how wonderful I was. My next run was standard about 6 hours later. The food lady messed up my weave entrance and I knocked a bar, but all in all it was a nice, fun run.

Next up, my little brother got to play in Novice JWW. He and the food lady are only doing a few obstacles at a time because he is such a nervous Nellie about things. Well, I hear he did a great job with his 6 jumps and tunnels. What a good little brother I have.

Saturday morning I ran JWW first. It was a tough course but lots of fun regardless. The food lady opened her big fat mouth and I knocked bar. I don't understand why she has to talk when we are running. I know what I am doing food lady, just point me in the right direction!! sheesh!! I am not sure she will ever learn :) My standard run was good too and yes, the food lady screwed me up AGAIN. Oh well. Ryder got to do 4 obstacles in his JWW run and was happy as can be. After the trial we went to Thunder's house and got to play in the backyard for a while and eat treats. I love going to Thunder's house. I can't wait for her pool to open in the summer. I am thinking about asking Pam and Sue if I can move in. Do you think they would mind?

Sunday was the last day of the trial. We were all tired after spending 11 hours there on Friday and Saturday. They were very long days for the hippy labs. I ran JWW first and the food lady didn't help me with my weave entrance - AGAIN. It was a fun, fast run though. Next up was Standard. Right before I was supposed to do the dog walk, I saw my friend Judy bar setting. I was really tempted to go say "Hi" but on the way over I made a good choice to come back and finish my run. I was running fast, hit my weave entrance and had a super fast down on the table. Only 5 more things to finish. Sadly, the triple was after the table and I didn't have enough OOMPH to clear it so I knocked the top bar. bummer. Ryder had his last run a little while later. He was kind of stressed out from all the noise as the rings were getting cleared and emptied out. The food lady had a plan to do 3 jumps and his weave poles. Ryder had other plans, he did 2 jumps, his weave poles, and then 3 more jumps. He seemed to have gotten over his nervousness and had a good time.

So to sum up my weekend, I finished my AXJ title, I had awesome contacts and start lines all weekend, only 3 knocked bars, I only missed 2 weave entrances and only had 1 small brain fart.

On a sad note however, Ryder is getting neutered next week. Poor little buddy. Everyone says his "business" needs to go so he can pay more attention. Poor guy. I just hope everything goes as planned. I would be really sad if anything happened to my baby brother. I still have a lot more to show him and teach him.

Dockdogs, Rosemont - Take 2!

2009-01-28T11:02:00.003-06:00

This weekend the food people took me back to my most favorite thing in the world: DOCKDOGS!!! I was so happy on Wednesday when we got out of the car and I saw the pool. It was like an oasis in the middle of the desert. I couldn't contain myself waiting and wondering when I was going to get to jump. Then, the food lady did something UNTHINKABLE. She took Ryder to the dock first. What the??? Who the heck did she think she was taking Ryder up there??? He barks at the pool and runs in circles. He doesn't even know what he is doing.

Anyhow, I forgave the food lady as soon as the food man took me up to the dock. All was right in the world. I was allowed to do a couple of practice jumps and I got to be a demo dog for the training session. I showed them how it was done.

I finally broke 20' indoors for the first time last week. Not that it matters, but it's much harder for some doggies inside than outside. The pool water was also a warm and balmy 39 degrees. Perfect for a hippy lab.

Lots of my dog friends came and jumped too: Marley, Frankie, Rumor and Dylan. They all had a good time. Not sure if they had as much fun as me, but I know they had fun.

On Saturday, Deb, Pam and Sue came to watch me jump. I did something really cool during one of my jumps: I caught my duck!! I have caught my duck in practice a hundred times, but never in competition. There was lots of yelling and cheering for me. You know how much I love the crowd cheering for me.

Sunday were the finals more fans came to see me. This time it was Mary and Kris. I made it into the Semi-Pro finals as the 5th seed. My friend Ollie made the finals too. Ollie finished in 2nd place and I finished in 4th place with a 20' 4" jump.

I had a great time with all my friends and I am anxiously awaiting my next event. I don't think that's going to be for a few months though. The food lady and I are going to be playing lots of agility before the summer starts. I hear Ryder is playing more agility too. But he is still being a goofy puppy and still doesn't like the teeter all that much. It depends on what day of the week it is if he decides to do it or not. Silly Ryder.

McCook New Year's Agility Trial

2009-01-07T13:32:00.003-06:00

Well friends, I am happy to report that I did NOT lose my rockstar status this weekend.

In fact, I think I may have earned the right to hold on to it for a while.

The trial started on Friday and I was a little confused.

The food lady came over to the xpen and took out my brother first.

Then a few minutes later I heard her playing agility with him!!

What the heck was going on???

I guess my little brother did okay, he was kinda of nervous at first, but I heard that he

stayed with the food lady and was really happy by the end. hmmm

That was all I needed to step up my game.

The food lady and I ran JWW first. There was a tunnel in the corner and the food lady gave me no indication of which end I should take so I took the closest one. Then, there they were: my nemesis: those damn weave poles. Well, I wasn't going to let them get the best of me this time. I nailed my entrance and then popped at the 10th pole because once again the food lady screwed up and didn't go all the way to the end.

Next up was standard. I was still a little peeved about Ryder getting to play, so I once again did those stinking weave poles, nailed all my contacts and didn't knock any bars! And if you can believe this, the food lady didn't screw up either!

Friday night, we went to my yellow lab friends house. I love to go visit Abby, Alex and Remi. They have a great backyard. I ran for hours. (probably wasn't the smartest thing for me to do, since I had 2 more days of agility coming up) One of my girlfriends, Lisa, came all the way to Chicago to visit. My aunt Whitney's think she came to see them, but I know she really came to see me. She loves me.

Saturday, the food lady did it again. She took my brother out AGAIN to play agility and then, get this, she played agility with Dylan too!! What is she thinking???? Ryder had a good time again and opted to do the wing jumps that he found so terrifying the day before. However, there was a green tunnel that frightened him this time. What a goof that baby brother of mine is.

I had a really nice JWW but I knocked the first bar. And my standard run was OK too. Once again, the food lady screwed me up.

Sunday, I decided I really needed to step up to the plate. Ryder had a really nice JWW run and had so much fun with the food lady. I needed to make sure the food lady didn't forget how much fun I am. I had a great JWW run and got my 2nd AXJ leg. I don't know why I have such a hard time with JWW. I like standard so much better. Want to know why? There is a pause table. That's right, I can rest for a few moments mid run. And you all know how much I love to rest. The weekend wound down with me getting another Q in standard.

So there you go folks, I am still the rockstar in the house, Ryder got his first agility runs under his belt and we all had a great time this weekend. Dogs and people!!

Next up on my schedule is some Dockdogs in a couple weeks. That's going to be great. I haven't jumped since October!!!!!

Better than cell phone pictures!

2008-12-15T10:30:00.012-06:00

Some bad cell phone pics

2008-12-11T10:11:00.005-06:00

Ryder and I hanging out in front of the Chirstmas tree at the hotel.

Rainey, Ryder and I in the hotel lobby

I will take care of you big brother.

Me, a.k.a. Rocky.

You should see what the other guy looks like!

Me, Ryder and the yellow labs!!

Another 0-fer at Hounds!

2008-12-08T12:09:00.002-06:00

So this past weekend was supposed to be a lot of fun for me. But, it started out pretty badly for everyone's favorite F Dog. I woke up on Tuesday morning and my left eye was swollen shut. Then my face swelled up and my ears swelled up and my paws turned red. I was scratching a lot and made my eyebrow bleed. The food people took me to the vet right away. I was very scared to have the vet poking around in my eye. I was very nervous. The food lady took really good care of me though.

We left on Wednesday night for Milwaukee for a really fun 4 day agility trial. On the way up though, my ears began to swell again. The next morning when the food lady took me out to do take care of my business, I was really sick. There was blood in my poop. The food people immediately took me to a vet and he said I was having a reaction to the Rymidal. I felt awful. Everyone gave me lots of pets and hugs and told the food lady I would be OK. The food lady was very sad and cried. She hates when I don't feel good.

I didn't get to play any agility on Thursday and that made me sad. I rested up and hoped that I would be allowed to play on Friday. I wasn't feeling great on Friday so the food lady and I just had a good time.

Saturday I ran really nicely. I am still having weave pole entrance issues though. I wish the food lady could figure it out. Sunday morning before our standard run, I saw the food lady give the food man some cheese. I was really naughty and decided that the cheese was more important than playing with the food lady. She marched me right back to xpen. I am hoping I learned my lesson: I left mama, so I didn't get to play agility, no one pet me or told me how great I was and I didn't even get the cheese. Those are all things that I love. I made up for it in my last run of the weekend. I was such a good boy for my JWW run. I ran fast, I didn't knock any bars and I tried really hard in my weave poles.

Lots of my friends were there this weekend too. Abby got 4 QQ's, Remi finished his NA and his NAJ, Rumor finished his NA. Rainey was a very good girl too. Also, Scout and Zane and Wisp were all good doggies too. My friend Sheff got a QQ and Rival also tried to be a good girl.

I am still not feeling super. My ears still hurt a little. But I hope to ready for this weekend. We are going to stay with Thunder for a few days!! That means a huge yard to play in and Ryder will be entertained by Neo. Flash is going to Long Beach for the AKC Agility Invitational. So for once, the goldens will outnumber the Border Collies!!!

Our next trial is over New Year's weekend. I have heard rumors that someone else might be playing agility that weekend too. I better be a good boy or I may lose my rockstar status at our house.

Merry Christmas to everyone!!!!!

Boring Update.....

2008-11-12T09:04:00.006-06:00

Hello friends.

It's been awhile and not a whole lot to report.

After Nationals we did a couple of agility trials.

I was very naughty at one of them.

I am not sure what came over me, but I really hurt

the food lady's feelings.

I will try to be a better boy, but I have told you before,

IT'S REALLY HARD.

Here are a few new pictures.

Like I said, life has been pretty quiet the last few weeks.

OH! I did get really sick and I was diagnosed with something

called "colitis." Which is an inflamed colon. I really

wasn't feeling well there for a week or so.

I am all better now and ready to drive the

food people crazy again. :)

The food people had a party this weekend.

I was in HEAVEN. All kinds of pretty girls pet me and

loved on me and gave me chips all night.

What more could a boy ask for???

What do you think of our rumps?

Here is Elan, my cousin Thunder and Ryder's love, Flash.

Dockdogs Nationals!!!

2008-10-13T10:51:00.011-05:00

Well, we are back from Dockdogs Nationals.

We had so much fun!!!

I jumped with the food man in the Masters Prelims.

We finished in 25th place out of 65 dogs.

The food man and I also were entered in the Elite Prelims.

I was pretty tired when they rolled around and I finished in 32nd place.

Not to shabby for a hippy lab.

I also jumped in the Senior Prelims with the food lady.

There were 96 dogs entered in that class.

We finished in 30th or so.

My friend Rumor made it to finals and finished in 8h place!!

Congrats Rumor!!

Ryder finished in 40th place in juniors.

He was very nervous because of all the people and noise and

banners flapping in the breeze. But he put his big boy pants on and jumped!

Look how cool my vest looks now with my new Zuke's patches on it.

Here I am telling the food man "LETS GO JUMPIN'!!!!!"

Ryder and I had a good time playing in the hotel room.

We did a lot of wrassling.

I won. (of course)
This is a picture from Yorkville a couple weeks ago.

I finished in 5th place in the Master/Elite finals.

It's very sad. This was our last Dockdogs event until January.

What am I going to do????

The food lady and I have some agility business to take care of.

I figure I kind of owe her and the food man since they took me to

lots of Dockdogs this summer.

I will try and be a good boy at agility. But I can't promise anything..........

Mayville Audobon Days!

2008-10-06T11:37:00.003-05:00

Well, the food people took us to more Dockdogs this weekend.

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Dockdogs?

Well, if I haven't in the last 5 minutes, I really do love it.

The food lady didn't bring her camera this weekend, so there

are no pictures. Sorry about that.

We stayed at our friend Ollie's house this weekend.

Ryder and Ollie really like each other.

They like to wrestle and chase each other.

I am much too mature for those kinds of silly games.

The pool water was really cold this weekend.

I didn't care. But guess who did?

Yep, Ryder. He gets really cold so the food lady wrapped him

up in a blanket to keep him warm.

Why is he such a weenie?

He needs to toughen up or he will be made fun of.

By me.

I jumped really nicely this weekend with lots of jumps over 20'

and a couple of 21 footers too.

The food man and I made the Master Elite finals and finished in

11th place. There were a lot of HUGE jumping dogs there this weekend

and I am really proud of myself for making it to the finals and competing

against them. I hold my own for a hippy lab!!

Some of the Wisconsin people give me a hard time about my

flowing coat. Some of them call me "Fabio."

They are just jealous of my good looks and great hair.

We are packing up again on Thursday to go back to Wisconsin for

Dockdogs Nationals. It's going to be so much fun.

I am jumping with the food lady in the Senior division.

The food man and I are entered in the Master and the Elite division.

Ryder is jumping in the Junior division with the food lady.

He probably won't jump though since the pool water will be

too cold for him. What a weenie he is.

I don't think he understands he is a RETRIEVER.

I might have to sit down with him soon and explain it to him.

I also heard the food people saying that this was our last

Dockdogs event for the year??!!!???

SAY IT ISN'T SO FOOD PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lambeau Leap!!

2008-10-02T11:42:00.011-05:00

Wow, what a great weekend we had.

We drove up to a place called Green Bay, WI.

We went to a huge building and guess what was there?

Yep, a pool. A pool for me to jump into.

It was an event called "The Lambeau Leap"

I guess this Lambeau field place is a big deal

to people in Wisconsin.

I don't know why.

I could see it being a big deal if they had the pool

there everyday.

Anyhow, 2 days of jumping with the food man

and my little brother.

This is how pissed off I get when I have to wait my turn.

Look at my little brother!!

He is really starting to get some confidence up on that dock!!

No way will he ever fly like me though.

See, Ryder doesn't care if he has to wait his turn.

He also thinks ice cubes are a treat.

He is not very bright.

But we all love him.

Tomorrow we are heading to Mayville, WI for more

Dockdogs. Then next week we have Nationals.

I can't wait to spend the weekend with all my friends and

GO JUMPIN'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Agility, Dockdogs, Dockdogs, Agility..........

2008-09-08T14:12:00.010-05:00

What's up peeps?

It's been awhile since I have updated my blog.

The food people have kept us very busy the last few weeks.

Where should I start?

We had a trial at the end of August.

I did really nicely and finished my AX title.

The following weekend we went to Dockdogs in Rockford.

The food lady was not very well behaved and I wasn't feeling very well.

The big crowds really stressed Ryder out on the dock, but he still jumped.

I was really skinny at the time and I think that affected my performance.

I still had fun with the food man.

Then we went to Wausau, WI for another Dockdogs event.

My friend Marley went too.

It was cold and rainy and the food people have decided to change up

my dock performance. I need to start "chasing" my duck.

Why can't they just let me jump????

I had a few jumps over 20' for the weekend.

The Wisconsin people are lots of fun.

They cheer really loudly for the hippie golden from Illinois.

This past weekend I got to play more agility!!

I am really starting to love playing this game with the food lady.

She and I are starting to click and we have been running really nicely.

I got my first MACh points this weekend too!!

It was only 2 points. But that's OK. At least the food lady

didn't cry like I thought she would.

My friend Clever got his MACh2 this weekend.

After the trial, the food people took us to Thunder's house.

They kept saying that it was probably the last time we

would get to swim in Thunder's pool this year. That stinks.

Maybe Pam and Sue will let me live with them until the pool closes?

By the way, Flash is still not falling for Ryder.

She may never love him the way he loves her.

Poor Ryder. He needs to learn that girls will break his heart.

He needs to be a tough guy like me.

Then all the girls will love him.

We are leaving Thursday for Green Bay.

More Dockdogs!!! WHOO!!

My friend Marley is going too.

So is my Aunt Kathleen and Ryder's brother, Ernie.

It's also the food man's birthday this weekend.

I am sure the food people will be having lots of cocktails to

celebrate that.........

(These are some pictures my Aunt Whitney took a few weeks ago)

Dockdogs Springfield!!!

2008-08-18T09:19:00.009-05:00

So, the food people took us to Springfield this weekend for the state fair.

This is me telling the food man I am tired of waiting and get me up on that dock!!!!!

Here is Mr. Big Stuff with the food lady.

He jumped a lot this weekend.

He is very tired.

He is not used to being part of the entertainment.

He had jumps ranging from 8' 2" all the way through 14'.

He ended up with 3 Novice legs and 4 Junior legs.

I am so proud of my little brother.

He likes to stand on the end of the dock sometimes and pose.

I have told you before how vain he is.

My Grandma and Auntie came to see us jump!!

My Grandma likes to give me ham sandwiches.

She didn't have any ham sandwiches with her this weekend though.

But she did give me lots of pets.

She loves me and my brother.

My Auntie loves us a lot too.

Now, on to the important Dockdogs stuff.

I jumped my personal best this weekend of 21' 10".

Can you believe that????

I was FLYIN'

I had lots of jumps in the 21' range.

I made the Semi-Pro finals again.

The food man and I have the best time at Dockdogs.

They play my favorite song when I am up on the dock too,

"Rockstar" by Nickelback.

Because I am a rock star.

Oh, I won the Semi-Pro finals with a 21' 4"

Here is Mr. Big Stuff again.

If I could do Dockdogs everyday,
I would be the happiest Golden Retriever in the whole world.
But it's a lot of money.
So I would probably have to get a job.
I don't want to get a job.
I would rather take a nap.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2008-08-11T07:45:00.002-05:00

Wow, have we been busy the last few weeks.

The food lady didn't give me any pictures to post, so its just an update.

The food lady better get some pictures up here soon.

Soooo, a couple weeks ago I got to do 5 days of Dockdogs at

the Dupage County Fair. It was so fun. It was a great way to spend

my birthday week. :) I am 4 now, so things are changing for me.

I had a personal best jump of 20' 11" on Saturday.

So many of my friends came to watch, that I waited until they were all there

to see my huge jump.

Barb, Ron and baby Nathan, Polly and Jason, Mary, Kris, Deb, Sherry.

A lot of my other friends were there too: Marley and Kim, Frankie and Mary Beth,

Gina (the jumping Beardie) and Jan, Ryder's sister Ever and Grandma Jan.

My friend Dylan turned 4 the same weekend. He is not feeling well right now

but I hope he gets to play again soon.

The food man and I were the top seed going into the Semi Pro finals.

Then, we were the top seed going into the Final four.

Guess what? I won. Everyone was so happy and cheering for me.

I really like when everyone cheers for me.

OH!!! I almost forgot!!

Guess who thinks he is mister BIG STUFF now?

Yep, you are right, Ryder.

He finally decided that it wasn't so scary to jump anymore.

We were playing with Thunder and the BC's one day and Ryder jumped into the pool.

We were all shocked and excited at the same time.

Maybe he isn't so much of a weenie.

The food people entered him in his first competition next week.

I am actually really proud of my little brother.

He is trying really hard.

And now for some agility news:

The food people took me to a trial this weekend.

It was something called USDAA. The best thing about it is you get 4 or 5 runs

A DAY!!! It's great. The food lady and I ran 9 times this weekend.

We had so much fun. We rain a relay race with Rival.

I told you about Rival a few weeks ago.

She is in love with me. She was a very good girl though and

was not distracted by my good looks and charming personality while we

ran the course.

The food lady and I walked away with 5 Q's and we finished my

AD (agility dog) title. I had a few problems with the upside of the dogwalk though.

I am too long and have way too big of stride. I missed the yellow paint on the way

up a few times. I also only dropped 2 bars all weekend. That's HUGE!

Everyone says I jump so much better at 26" than I do at 24"

Alright, today is the food lady's birthday so we are going to the beach with

Thunder, Elan and Flash.

(Flash is still ignoring Ryder's glances. Poor kid)

Friday we are leaving for the Illinois State Fair for DOCKDOGS!!!

YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The yellow labs are going too. We haven't seen our yellow lab friends in a long time.

My aussie friends

2008-07-21T08:26:00.011-05:00

Yesterday the food people took us to see

our Aussie friends. They have a HUGE yard and

lots of agility equipment.

(They are really lucky)

The food people went inside for a bit and Ryder and I were

not pleased they left us alone in the yard.

We stared at them through the deck.

This is Rival. She is an Aussie with a tail!

Who knew?? I think Rival really liked me.

Everywhere I went, she was there.

She is very pretty and the food lady said

I was going to be playing agility with Rival in August.

That should be fun. We are both naughty.

I did some resting and cooling off under the table.

See, there she is again.

She didn't bother me any.

She just followed me around and stole my Cuz.

One of these things is not like the other.

This is Nayland. He is a very handsome Aussie.

He likes to run and herd Ryder and I.

He thinks we are sheep.

But we are not.

We are Golden Retrievers.

Nayland really liked barking at Ryder.

I think Ryder's feelings were hurt.

Ryder ran and ran.

He chased some sticks and tried to run away from

Nayland. Nayland caught him a few times.

Ryder practiced his table.

(Nayland didn't bother him when he was on the table)

This is Addie and Nathan.

Nathan is just a baby. He is very sweet and smiley though.

Addie is the Boss of all the Aussies.

She is a very good babysitter too.

This is Sheff. I have told you guys about Sheff before.

He got his MACh last summer.

He has lots of letters around his name.

I hope to be like Sheff someday.

(The food lady needs to be like Auntie Barb though if

she wants that to happen. Auntie Barb doesn't screw Sheff up)

Sheff loves his baby.

We had a really good time at the Aussie's house.

And, rumor has it that I am going to have a BLAST this week.

I have dockdogs 5 days in a row.

I can't wait.

I will let you all know how it goes next week!!!!

This weekend sucked for me

2008-07-07T13:03:00.002-05:00

So, you guys know that I hurt my leg last weekend right?

You also know that I had heard the food people whispering a lot

about this weekend right?

Well, they didn't let me jump at Dockdogs.

I was devastated. They put Ryder and me in the xpen about

20 feet from the pool. How could they do this me????

Part of me thinks the food people don't love me anymore.

Are they getting back at me for all the times I have been naughty??

Please food people, please don't ever take me to another Dockdogs event

and not let me jump. I was very depressed this weekend.

But.....on a happier note. A lot of my friends came out to play this

weekend. Pam brought Flash out and Flash got her Novice Jumper

title. Marley got 1st place in the Junior finals, Frankie had a personal best jump.

Rumor got 3rd place in the Novice finals.

Ryder's brother Ernie was there this weekend too.

You know, the brother that snorts all the time?

Well, Aunt Kathleen tried Dockdogs with Ernie and he did great!!

They even got their picture in the paper. Ernie got 5th

place in the Novice finals.

Maybe Ernie needs to tell Ryder to put his big boy pants on and JUMP!!

Now, onto a sad note.

The food man played Dockdogs with another dog this weekend.

He played with Remi. The food man and Remi jumped 19' 4" and made

the Senior Finals. Does the food man not love me anymore??

Doesn't he know I can jump farther than Remi??

The food man also played Speed Retrieve with Remi and they got 3rd place.

I hope the food man plays Dockdogs with me again soon.

My friend Dylan didn't get to play either this weekend.

Our moms somehow thought that just letting run around in the

field for 5 minutes would make us feel better.

IT DIDN'T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, enough complaining. I need my leg to get better.

Good stuff and bad stuff

2008-07-02T07:18:00.002-05:00

Well friends, I have quite a bit to tell you all.

Where do I start?

This past weekend the food people took me to an agility trial

that was by Grandma's house.

I LOVE to go to Grandma's house. She lives on that awesome

lake I always tell you about. Anywho, we went to the trial on Friday

and I did alright. Nothing too spectacular other than me hitting both

of my weave entrances and all my contacts.

After the trial we went back to the lake to swim.

Saturday morning, back to the trial. I ran great for the food lady

and hit both my weave entrances again. My standard run was awesome.

The food people were really happy and all my fans cheered for me.

Afterwards my friends Dylan and Rumor came to the lake.

We were going to have a slumber party.

All was going well: we were all swimming and jumping off the dock

and chasing sticks and ducks and bumpers.

Then, all of a sudden, the food lady GASPED and yelled "OH MY GOD!!!!"

I was too busy flinging my duck around and trying to get my

Aunt Whitney to give me some hot dog.

Well, it turns out I sliced open part of my front left leg.

You know that worthless pad that's on your ankle?

Yea, that thing. Well, I sliced it right open. I bled a lot.

Aunt Whitney did give me a ton of salami while the food people cleaned

up my wound. I have to walk around with this silly colored vet

wrap on now. The food lady keeps saying I look like a racehorse.

Really food lady? I am way better than any stinking racehorse.

On Sunday, we had to go back to the trial to get all of our stuff.

I didn't understand why I wasn't allowed to play.

Did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble?

I thought I was being a good boy.

We are going to Dockdogs this weekend.

I have heard the food people whispering though.

I am not sure if I am going to be allowed to jump.

Don't they know that will kill me?

So, if you could all keep your fingers crossed that I get to

jump this weekend, that would be great.

However, I know I need to let my wound heal because I still

have a whole summer left of Dockdogs, agility and swimming.

It just stinks. Last year at this exact same time is when I broke my tail.

Whew!!! Dockdogs in Dubuque

2008-06-16T13:07:00.008-05:00

Alright peeps. Lots of news to share!!

The food people took us to Dubuque, Iowa this weekend

for Dockdogs. I know I don't even need to tell you guys this,

BUT........

IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

The food man and I busted out some huge jumps.

In fact, we busted out 5 Masters jumps this weekend

to earn my Master Jumper National title. WOOT WOOT!!

I beat my personal best jump by 1.5'

I pulled out two 20' 10" jumps this weekend.

All my jumps were over 20' this weekend.

So, without further ado, this is how the food man and I

make it happen!!!

First, he lets me off me leash at the bottom of the stairs.

I race to the top of the stairs to hear and see all my

adoring fans!!!

Then, I run to the end of the dock.

The food man comes up the stairs and we

try really hard to get the crowd going.

Funny thing is though, no matter how much the crowd is yelling,

I can ALWAYS hear the food lady cheering.

She cheered so much for me this weekend that she lost her voice.

The food lady is a great cheerleader.

Next, the food man takes me to the back o the dock.

He makes me sit. I am usually barking at him

by now. Then we HI-FIVE and he tells me to stay.

Most of the time I stay. Sometimes I break my stay

and the food man makes me go back.

Then, I wait for my release......

Next thing I know, I am flying off the dock to chase my duck.

WHOOOO!!! Look at me fly!!!

The food man took Ryder up on the dock too.
He is still too scared to jump.
The food people keep telling him to
put his big boy pants on.
He needs to learn not to be scared.
Dockdogs is fun.

When I wasn't jumping, I rested.
The food lady said this is the first time she has
ever seen me sleep at any event.
I was pretty pooped out though.

Can you believe this?
The food lady hasn't tortured me in a long time.
She decided that I needed to be tortured last night.
Why or why food lady??????

Lots going on!!

2008-06-08T11:28:00.004-05:00

Wow, have we been busy!

The food lady hasn't taken any pics lately, so you will

all just have to deal with me telling you what's been going on!

Last weekend the food people took me to an agility trial

in Manhattan. We only did 1 day since I have a hard time outside.

WELL!! Did I show them. My standard run was great!

I knocked the 2nd jump, but that's OK. I was 14 seconds under SCT

and the food lady and I had a great time.

When it was time for JWW, it was really hot.

I have A LOT of fur in case you didn't know so I get hot fast.

Well, the food lady and I take off to run.

Things were going great and then all of a sudden, there it was!!!

The prettiest dandelion I have ever seen.

I had to stop and show the food lady.

Whitney told the food lady, "Hey, sometimes you have to stop

and smell the flowers!' She was right. The food lady really needed to see

the dandelion. She just laughed and said "Come on buddy!"

so we finished the run.

I had a great time and was a very good boy so

I got a cheeseburger from Culver's!

On Sunday my friend Thunder invited us over to go swimming!

It was great. The water was cool and refreshing.

(Just so you know, the border collies still don't like Ryder)

Then, on Monday, it was Ryder's very first birthday!!

Where has the last year gone?

The food people got us a birthday cake and Jameson came over.

We also went to the beach on Wednesday. I LOVE the beach.

There was lots of running and swimming and fetching of Cuz's.

Yesterday the food people took me to another agility trial.

It was REALLY HOT and humid. I was not pleased with the weather.

However, I bucked up and had a great JWW run.

The grass was damp and slippery so I knocked a couple bars, but I rocked

those stinkin' weave poles!!

By the time it was my turn to run standard, it was just too hot for me.

I could only do half the course and then I had to go and get my leash.

The food lady understood. Sometimes it's just too hot for the F Dog.

After the trial, Whitney, Dylan, Rumor and the food

people drove to Mendota, IL

for Labfest at our friends Abby, Alex and Remi's farm.

It was so much fun. We swam for almost 8 hours.

Ryder even swam!! Everyone was very happy when he swam.

I am not sure what the big deal is.

I swim all the time and no one makes that

big of a deal about it.

Ryder had so much fun that he cut his lip and his nose.

We had a blast though. I hope they invite us back again someday.

OK, I need to go and rest up. On Friday we are leaving for

Dubuque, Iowa for DOCKDOGS!!!!!!!!

I cannot wait. All my friends will be there.

Dylan, Rumor, Abby, Alex, Remi and some of my Wisconsin friends.

I will let you all know how it goes next week!!!!

Smack Dab Trial

2008-05-27T08:46:00.014-05:00

What a fun weekend we had!

Saturday and Sunday the food people took us to an

agility trial in Naperville. It was a brand new

place for me to run. Saturday I ran OK. The JWW course was

not very nice for big dogs and I missed my weave entrance.

The food lady was OK with that since tons of big dogs missed it.

Our standard run on Saturday was going well until I did my weaves and

the food lady got so excited that she forgot where we were going.

We made up the rest of the course. Silly, silly food lady.

On Sunday, I got my first Excellent A JWW leg.

Everyone was so happy for me! There was lots of cheering

and I got tons of pets and hugs and treats.

Maybe I should do this Q thing more often?

After the trial on Sunday, we went to my friend Thunder's house

for a cookout. Thunder lives with her 2 Border Collies sisters, Elan

and Flash. Pam and Sue are really good friends to the food people.

They all like to drink beer beer together and tell funny stories.

I really like their yard. They also have a pool that they said

I can swim in this summer. I can't wait!!

I really enjoy Sue's flowerbeds. It was much cooler to

rest in the dirt than anywhere else.

Me and my little brother.

Here I am racing around with my red Cuz.

Pam gave us some cookies.

That's Ryder, me, Thunder, and Jameson.

This is Flash's ball, Tiny. Ryder stole it from her.

It's not nice to steal toys. He was smart

and did give it back to her.

Ryder loves Flash.

The feeling is not mutual though.

He also stole Elan's soccer ball.

Elan does not love Ryder either.

She loves him even less than Flash does.

This is Thunder.

Thunder is 10 years old.

She is working on her MACh7 right now.

The food lady LOVES Thunder.

She is a very nice girl.

Thunder and I are actually related!

We have the same great grandfather.

This is Elan. She is going to have puppies

soon. Maybe the new Border Collie puppy will like

Ryder. Elan has her MACh12. She is a great dog.

This is Flash, the apple of Ryder's eye.

She is the daughter to Elan.

She has lots of MACh's too.

One day maybe she will like Ryder.

(I doubt it though, he doesn't get the hint!)

Dockdogs Berwyn

2008-05-21T09:34:00.012-05:00

Well, its about time the food people took me to another Dockdogs event.

I have been waiting a very long time.

I had lots of friends come and watch and some new

friends come and jump!!!

Jen and Vienna, Jennifer, her sister Erin and her nieces and nephews,

and Deb brought Milo and Tucker.

My friends Dylan, Marley and Frankie all jumped this weekend too!

The food man and I got 2 more Masters Legs with jumps of

20' 3" and 20' 2".

I also landed a spot in the Master Elite finals.

I ended up finishing in 6th place overall for the weekend.

Don't you feel sorry for us?

Hey everyone!!!

Do you see me up here?

I really enjoy strutting my stuff on the dock!

Dude, will you throw the damn duck already???

Good job food man!!!

Ryder is very cautious.
He thinks about things before he does them.

This was a much easier way of getting in the water

for Ryder to get his Wubba!

The food lady thinks he is so cute.

He doesn't look very happy here does he?

I think he was looking for a snack.

Weekend at the Lake!

2008-05-05T09:19:00.020-05:00

This weekend the food people took us to Grandma's.

I love to go to Grandma's.

I got to do tons of swimming and running.

Grandma also made me a cheeseburger.

I was not in the mood for the food lady to take pictures of me.

Good thing Ryder was there to take the heat for me.

We met some swans this weekend.

Ryder was very intrigued. He would not leave them alone.

They would hiss at him, then I would have to run over and

bark at them. I had to make sure they didn't hurt my little brother.

I certainly hope Ryder does not think this is what you do with

an agility jump. Resting underneath it is NOT what you do.

He better learn soon, otherwise the food lady might not play agility with him.

(That means he would miss out on all kinds of treats)

Hey, throw my duck.

I said, THROW MY DUCK!!!!

It's about time. Thanks food people!!!

I love my duck.

I don't love it as much as my Cuz, but it's ok.

Shake, shake, shake!!!!

I do a really good job of making sure Grandma's yard get watered.

HEY! Little man, give me my duck!

Ryder was quite pleased with himself when he stole my duck.

I made sure to get it back.

Ryder did a lot of running around.

He lost a lot of tennis balls.

But he always seemed to find more.

When he wasn't running, he was chasing the swans and eating goose poop.

Look at this stack!

I hate to say it, but my little brother is quite the looker.

Obviously not nearly as handsome as me though.

He likes to ham it up for the camera.

(Better him than me. I have had my picture taken enough!)

Ha ha, do you see me in the background ruining his photo shoot??

He is a nice looking boy.

I wonder if his head will ever grow into those ears those?

Our weekend

2008-04-29T10:18:00.010-05:00

(Disclaimer: All photos other than the first 2 are courtesy of

Kathleen Schaffer, Pup Art)

We had a really busy weekend!! It didn't start off very well.

Ryder had to go to the vet on Friday morning. He was a very

naughty boy. He likes to lick his "nether region."

Well, he licked it so much that he made it raw and scabby.

The food people were not happy with Ryder.

He has to wear a cone or else he has to wear this underwear.

He looks ridiculous and he is humiliated.

I keep telling him it's his own fault.

Saturday night, the food people had a party. I LOVE when

the food people have parties. That means I got lots of

pets and extra snacks. I also got beer too.

(The food people had too many cocktails, so they didn't take any pics at the party.)
Almost all of my agility fans were there too and some new fans.

It was lots of fun. I was really tired. Everyone at the party

kept hollering at Ryder when he was naughty.

He did get a lot of ice cubes though. So he was pleased.

Then on Sunday, we went to my Aunt Kathleen's house.

Ryder's brother Ernie, lives with Aunt Kathleen.

She has a HUGE yard and there was a lot of mud.

We were all very happy. She took lots of pictures of us.

Here is Ryder and Ernie. Ernie is very funny.

He made the food people laugh a lot.

I will tell you why in a bit.

Ernie and Ryder spent a lot of time chasing me.

I know they just wanted my Cuz.

Aunt Kathleen put this awesome pool in the yard too.

I love lounging in the pool.

Do you notice I am giving Ernie the stink-eye?

Ernie really liked me for some reason.

He wouldn't leave me alone.

He really wanted to get in the pool with me.

More stink-eye at Ernie.

I also noticed that Ernie makes a lot of noise.

I thought Ryder made a lot of noise with his squealing, but Ernie

takes the cake. He grunts and snorts and squeals.

This is Ernie's big sister, Snickers. She wanted no part in

our games. She did bark a lot at her neighbors though.

They were kind of scary.

The yard got really muddy. You guys all know how I love

the mud. I rolled in it and ate it and made a huge mess.

The food people were not pleased with how dirty we all were.

Aunt Kathleen called this picture "Garden Weasel."

I really enjoyed running around the yard and flower beds.

I also enjoyed rolling in the mulch, the mud and the grass

(Notice who is right there? Yes, ERNIE!)

Trip to the beach!!!

2008-04-07T09:10:00.014-05:00

This weekend the food people FINALLY took us back to the beach.

My brother, Jameson, was staying with us this weekend too.

I like when he stays over. He plays with Ryder and I can get some

much needed rest. I brought my beloved cuz to the beach too.

However, Saturday night I left my cuz at my friends house.

I hope they will bring it back to me this weekend.

I cannot live without my yellow cuz.

Do you think my cuz will be ok?

The food people tried to sneak in this green cuz.
I only went to get it once. Then it floated away.
I NEED MY YELLOW CUZ

Ryder had a good time at the beach too.

He ran around and even got in the water!!

We were all very proud of him.

The food people keep telling him he better learn to love

the water or he is going to have a really boring summer!

Look at him go!!!

He is very vain too.

He likes to stand around and look all handsome.

And everyone walks by and tells him how good looking he is.

Ryder also introduced himself to this little French Bulldog.

psst, Ryder, you take poops bigger than that dog!

It's also good to have a brother to help you dig holes

We got a lot more accomplished with the 2 of us digging.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

2008-03-17T12:24:00.004-05:00

Well, I haven't had much time to post lately.

So, I will update as much as I can!

I did an agility trial at the beginning of the month.

It was the first time in over 2 months the food people took

me to an agility trial. I ran really nicely.

The food lady and I have been working really hard on

my weave poles. I hit 4 out of 6 weave entrances at my last trial.

The food lady was very happy with me!!

This past weekend, the food people took Ryder and me to the

Wisconsin Dells for Dockdogs. It was a lot of fun.

The food lady jumped me on Friday afternoon. We needed 1 more

senior jump to finish our Senior Jumper National Title.

I jumped for the food man the rest of the weekend. We did very well

and I jumped nicely. I got to see lots of my dog friends too:

Dylan, Rumor, Abby, Alex, and Remi.

The food lady and I had a long enough jump to qualify for the

Amateur Finals. We made the top 4 too!!

I jumped 17' 5" for the food lady. We won some money and

a Cabela's gift certificate.

I posted a couple new pics of Ryder. Can you believe

how HUGE he is? He is a very good boy.

He started agility class a couple weeks ago. He has been doing a nice job.

Day at the Farm!!!!

2008-02-04T12:01:00.000-06:00

Yesterday the food people took us to see Ryder's mom and sister.

They live on a farm. There was a ton of snow.

I like to stick my whole head in the snow.

Oh, my Cuz got to come along too!!!

Jameson and I had to wrestle and play tug with my little

Cuz. Sometimes I let him win. But not often.

ITS MY CUZ
(I have to share all my other stuff with them, why do I have to share my beloved Cuz??)

There was something good here.

I don't know exactly what.

But Ryder helped me check it out.

Ryder had a good time too.

Sometimes he sat.

Sometimes he ran really fast!!

Sometimes he wrassled.

This is Ever, Ryder's sister, Ryder, and his mom, Callan.

Ever and Ryder

Callan and her frozen tennis ball.

Callan and Ryder

This is the barn where the sheep live.

We went to check them out.

Jameson and I barked at them

They were kinda big and scarey.

We also met some chickens.

Ryder wasn't even afraid of them.

I think he wanted to eat them.

I tell him all the time how tasty chicken is.

A few new pics.....

2008-02-01T13:18:00.000-06:00

This is what I think of the food lady taking

so many pictures.

I don't know why they call us "Frick and Frack."

Do you think we look alike?

I don't really care what you think.

I even have to share MY couch with him.

Dockdogs Rosemont!!!!

2008-02-01T13:07:00.001-06:00

FINALLY!!!!

I got to do some Dockdogs again.

I have been patiently waiting since September to jump again.

The food man and I had a great time.

Lots of new friends came to jump for the first time.

Marley, Lit, Frankie, Bindi, Clever, Pip, Reason and Preacher.

Lots of old friends were there too.

Dylan, Ruby, Abby, Alex, Remi (he couldn't jump though, his tail is broken)

Lots of friends came out to watch me fly: Norbert, Pam and Sue,

Sarah and her husband.

I had lots of good jumps for being so rusty!

I finished 3rd in the Big Air Semi-Pro finals.

The food people love to go to Dockdogs events.

Only because they get to drink lots of beer

Our next event is going to be in the Wisconsin Dells in March.

I don't know if I can wait that long though.

Trip to Milwaukee!

2008-02-01T12:58:00.001-06:00

The food people took us to Milwaukee last weekend.

We went to see some other golden friends.

I was grumpy and hung out by myself.

Thats how I roll.

Ryder puppy ran around and had a great time.

He posed for pictures too.
What's he thinking? The food lady will never stop if he keeps posing.

This is Simon. Simon has cancer. Simon is only 3 years old
Simon is a good dog.
Please keep Simon and his mom, Jeanne, in your thoughts.

This is Simon's older brother, Barney.
Barney is 13!! He is a good boy too.
Barney and I made sure the other dogs didn't have too much fun.

Lots of new pictures!!!

2007-12-27T12:16:00.000-06:00

The food lady insists on taking a million pictures.

Why cant she just leave me and my Cuz alone?

"It's very important to have a good Cuz and a bad Cuz."

"What?"

"Seriously food lady, that's enough."

"I am NOT a dork!!!"

"OK, maybe I am a bit of a dork."

My little brother is getting huge.

The food lady says he is very handsome.

Sorry, but I don't see it.

I am the most handsome.

He hates wearing a collar.

Look at his ears.

He is the dork.

Ryder also has no idea that he has four legs.

I laugh at him a lot.

He is a dork.

Again, look at his ears!! DORK!!!

He does have a nice smile though.

The food lady is always talking about his eyelashes too.

I don't know what the big deal is.

Look at my teeth!!GRRRRRRRRRR

I love to run and fetch my Cuz.

Sometimes I just run for the heck of it.

But it's much better to run with my Cuz.

See?

What did I tell you?

The red Cuz is ok too.

HA!! Look what the food lady did to Ryder.

shhhh, better him than me.

This is my brother Jameson

He lives next door.

He is a good boy.

This was one of Ryder's first times in deep snow.

He was happy.

It was an unlimited supply of ice and water.

His two favorite things.

Doesn't he know cookies are better?

What a dork.

More dorky Ryder.

(but I really do love him. Don't tell anyone.)

Nothin' butt goldens

Brain trust.

OK, OK, I am a dork too

I should know by now that its just snow.

But I still fall for it every time.

Parking lot races.

Still winning!!!

shhhh, no one was chasing me

Food lady, there better be a good treat after this.

We certainly are handsome aren't we??

The food lady sometimes calls us "Frick and Frack"

Whatever does she mean by that??

Alright food lady, that's enough.

Christmas is almost here

2007-12-13T09:32:00.000-06:00

Food lady, why can't it be winter all year round?

Dear Santa, please give me my lunch back.

You have got to be kidding me food lady.
This is NOT what I signed up for

Seriously, more pictures?

Leave us alone Food Lady. We are resting.

Can we get any peace around here?

Recent activities

2007-11-21T08:38:00.000-06:00

We call this Ryder's "porn star" pose.

Seriously, THAT is my ottoman, not yours.

The food lady says we are two peas in a pod.

What is she talking about???

This is Ryder's mom, Callan, and his sister Ever.

Its hard to take a picture of four Goldens at once.

Look at my teeth! Ryder is not scared of them though.

This was our last trip to the beach.
I miss the beach.

Haven't posted in a while. We have been very busy!!

We had puppy agility camp in Wisconsin and this past weekend

we had an agility trial. I had lots of fun with the food

lady this weekend and in 10 runs, I got 8 Q's that included

5 first place finishes, 2 second place finishes and a third place.

My little brother is huge now. He is about 40 pounds.

Ryder is a good puppy. We like to play and wrestle.

I like to steal toys from him. He lets me.

He has no choice. I was here first.

What happened to my puppy???

2007-10-30T08:28:00.001-05:00

My little puppy used to weigh 13 pounds.

He now weighs 36 pounds.

Holy crap! What happened???

This weekend the food people took us to the dog park in

Lake Forest. My aussie and Red Dog friends met us.

We had lots of fun!!!

We swam and fetched the cuz and ran for 2 hours.

It was great!!!

Grandma's house!

2007-10-02T08:39:00.001-05:00

This weekend the food people took us to see Grandma.

Grandma lives in southern Illinois.

Grandma LOVES me. I am the only dog allowed in her house.

She likes to feed me stuff that the food people wouldn't feed me.

I don't complain. Grandma's know best right???

The food people also took me to an agility trial!

I had a great time. Saturday I ran very nicely for the food lady.

I got a 3rd place in Open JWW and finished my title.

I also got a 2nd place in Excellent A Standard!!!

Then the food people took me to get a cheeseburger!!!

Have I mentioned that I love cheeseburgers?? I DO!!

But once again, I had to share my cheeseburger with my little brother.

Its ok though, I like him.

He just better make sure he shares with me at some point!

Dockdogs Yorkville!!!

2007-09-26T12:26:00.000-05:00

The food people took us to Dockdogs again this weekend.

I love Dockdogs. It's the best time ever.

The food man threw my cuz perfectly this weekend.

So perfect in fact, that I busted out some HUGE jumps.

I made the finals again too.

My last 2 jumps of the weekend were 20' 5" and 20' 7".

I also finished my Senior Jumper Regional title.

I love the food people.

My little brother also collected money for

"Chase Away K9 Cancer."

He did a good job. Who can resist a fuzzy, cute puppy?

Once again, I had a great weekend thanks to the food people.

Terre Haute Dockdogs!!!

2007-09-17T09:08:00.000-05:00

This weekend the food people took me to another Dockdogs event.
Holy cow!! Did I have a great time!!
The food man threw my yellow cuz really well. (It's about time!)
I jumped the best I have ever jumped.
I broke my personal best 4 times.
I finished the weekend with my best jump ever: 19' 4" !!!!!
I was the only golden retriever there so I did my best to represent the breed!
I also completed my Senior Jumper National title.
The food people were very pleased. I had a lot of fun!

Update on my brother

2007-09-14T08:32:00.000-05:00

This is Ryder's first agility picture!! My aunt Kathleen took this picture at camp last weekend. Aunt Kathleen is the mama to my brother Ernie.

Ryder had to go to the vet yesterday for his last round of shots. We love to go to the vet. She is awesome and loves Ryder and me a ton. Ryder got on the scale and weighed in at 25 pounds! The food lady put me on the scale too, I weighed in at 71 pounds. The food lady is always making sure I am fit and trim for all my activities.

This weekend the food people are taking us to Terre Haute, IN for some more dockdiving!! I can't wait!! It's going to be so much fun.

Summer is almost over......

2007-09-13T08:40:00.001-05:00

Well, summer is almost over. On one hand it makes me very sad, but on the other hand, it will nice and cool now. much better for me and my furry coat!!!!

This past weekend, the food people took me to Merrillville, IN for agility camp! I had a lot of fun and also got to go swimming. I really like to do agility. But someone needs to talk to the food lady about her handling skills. Sometimes she needs special help!

Ryder got to spend a lot of time with his littermate, Ernie, this weekend too! I also got to see my friend Snickers. I saw lots of my dog friends including Dylan and Paris.

Yesterday the food people took Ryder and me to the beach. It was a lot of fun!!! Ryder is still a bit hesitant about getting in the water, but I think someday he will learn to love it. He has no choice. The food people take us to the water a lot.

Rockford Dockdogs!!

2007-09-04T09:48:00.000-05:00

This weekend the food people took me to Rockford for a 3 day

Dockdogs event!!!!

I LOVE Dockdogs. It might be the most fun a dog can have.

The food people took turns jumping me.

The food man and I managed to get a good enough jump to make

it to the Big Air Pro Finals.

The food lady and I made it to the Big Air Amateur Finals.

I was really tired after the amateur finals.

Want to know what happened????

Well, the food lady threw my Cuz really well and i jumped really far

and I WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got lots of medals (8 to be exact) and I won $100!!!

The food people say its about time I start earning some money.

All in all, it was a really fun weekend.

McCook Agility Trial

2007-08-27T14:34:00.000-05:00

The food people took me to a 3 day agility trial this weekend.

I did something very naughty Friday morning.

The food lady was crying.

I decided to be a very good boy for the rest of the day.

The food lady and I got a 1st place in JWW and a 1st place in standard

The food people bought me a double cheeseburger.

The next day, my aussie friend Sheff got his MACh.

Getting your MACh is a BIG deal.

The food lady cried after that.

Then MACh Sheff's mom announced that she was going to have a baby.

The food lady cried some more.

Here are MACh Sheffields runs courtesy of Mary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWPHrkB2DZs

I got another 1st place in standard on Saturday.

I got another double cheeseburger.

Sunday was our last day of the trial.

I decided to be a good boy again.

The food lady and I walked away with another 1st place finish in standard.

My new name is Fergus OA, NAJ.

The food lady cried some more after we were done running.

I think she is really proud of me.

I do the best I can.

I got a big fat steak for dinner.

I shared with Jameson and Ryder.

Why do I have to share my rewards with other dogs????

Don't I look thrilled with my accomplishments?

Look at these legs!!!

2007-08-23T10:53:00.000-05:00

Holy cow. How did his legs get so long?

Pretty soon my little brother might be

bigger than me. I might be in trouble then.

Alright, he isn't THAT bad.

We play lots of tug and chase.

Ryder also likes to hide under the couch and bark.

Little does Ryder know but, he is going to get stuck in or under

something very soon. And we will all laugh at him.

Silly Ryder puppy

2007-08-08T12:43:00.000-05:00

Excuse me, does anyone know where Ryder is?

At least he isn't bothering me.

The food lady said I had to share my blog with the new guy.

HMMMMMM, I have no idea where the puppy could be.

Before he knows it, he is going to be way too big

to fit in that box and he is going to get stuck.

I will laugh at him then.

One more way for the food lady to torture me.
She ordered this vest for me for Dockdogs.

She says I could win money. Don't count on it food lady.

Introducing.....

2007-08-06T09:23:00.000-05:00

The food people brought my new brother home last weekend.

His name is Gaelicgold Go for the Green, call name Ryder.

I didn't really like him at first.

He was kind of noisy and irritating.

But don't tell the food people this, I am starting to like him now.

I don't like when he barks in his crate though.

I will have to explain to him that the crate is a good place.

The food lady isn't allowed to bother you when you are in crate.

The crate is your safe zone.

Ryder is no match for me yet at tugging.

I like to fling him around when we play tug.

Ryder doesn't know what treats are yet, so I got lots of extras.

My new brother

2007-07-23T09:14:00.001-05:00

This is my new brother, Ryder.

The food people took me to meet him yesterday.

He is very small. Rumor has it I was that small once too.

I don't believe it though.

My new brother is ok.

"I love you big brother!"

WAG trial!

2007-07-17T14:48:00.001-05:00

The food people took me to another agility trial this weekend.

Agility is lots of fun, but sometimes I don't feel like doing it.

Take my first run of the weekend for example.

I had a great start line and did the first 3 jumps. I knew some of my fans

were watching so I decided to trot out of the ring.

I needed to say hello to them.

The food lady was not very pleased with me.

My next run was ugly but effective. I finished my Novice Standard title.

The food man says it all looks the same on the scorecard, ugly or not!

Sunday the food people took me back. As I got ready for my first run,

I could hear all my fans cheering for me! I decided that I would make

everyone happy and complete the run. Lucky for me I did, because I got

my first Q in Open JWW. The food people were pleased.

The food people wonder why I trot out of the ring sometimes.

Maybe the food lady should stop torturing me by taking my picture with

all these silly ribbons. She bribes me with cookies.

I did get a small ice cream from Dairy Queen for all my hard work though.

DOCKDOGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-07-10T09:49:00.000-05:00

This weekend the food people took me to a dockdogs event.

It was so fun!!! It was really hot too.

My friend Dylan went too. His best jump was 17' 11". He is awesome!!!

My 3 best jumps of the day were 16' 3", 16' 11"and

my best jump of the day was my last jump with 17' 3"!!

I got 3 seni0r qualifying legs.

I don't know what that means and neither do the food people.

Barking is encouraged and not frowned upon at dockdogs.

This is just my thing!! I am an exceptional barker.

Come on, let me go!! My cuz is in that pool!!!!!

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Water wrassling

2007-07-09T09:17:00.001-05:00

My brother got to go to grandma's this weekend with me.

He snuck up behind me and dunked me!

Beware my friend of my teeth!!!

Hang on a second, I need to shake.

Hey! Quit sticking your tongue out at me.
You started it!!

What mom? We weren't doing anything.

Just being good boys!!

My weekend.

2007-06-26T09:40:00.000-05:00

I got to go to grandma's again this weekend.

My brother, Jameson, got to come along this time!!

We swam for hours. Grandma even fixed us a cheeseburger for lunch on Sunday!

But, all the fun came to an end when we returned home.

The food people kept talking about my tail

They said it wasn't wagging.

They got very concerned.

They left work early on Monday and took me to the vet.

The vet sedated me and took some xrays.

(At least I didn't pee on myself like last time!)

I broke my tail.

It appears that I somehow managed to fracture the 3rd vertebrae in my tail.

I have to take medicine two times a day now.

The vet says my tail should be wagging soon.

I really need my tail to work again soon. It's very important to me.

The puppies!!!

2007-06-26T09:24:00.000-05:00

Spoke with Jan last night. She had just returned home from the vet with all the taters. All pups are doing great and weigh between 3 and 4 pounds. All are walking and had their first mushy kibble meals on Sunday!! Our house will not be the same at the end of July!! Andy and I are beyond excited, Fergus will have some adjusting to do. I am sure he and the new puppy will be the best of friends in no time though.

My weekend

2007-06-19T14:15:00.000-05:00

This weekend the food people took me to grandma's

She lives on a lake. I love the lake.

I could swim for hours and hours.

And I do. I would swim all night if I could.

But the food people always say we need to get some rest.

I love the water. The food lady says I am part fish.

I got to bring my yellow cuz too.

The food people like to take my cuz and throw it off the dock.I pretended for a long time I was too scared. Now I won't stop.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ScUNACl4b2k

I also had an agility trial this weekend. I had a really nice standard run on Saturday so the food people made me a nice juicy black angus beef cheeseburger. Sunday was a little too hot for me. I searched out the shade. The food people were not upset though. They understood that it was just too hot for the F dog.

I also had to get a bath when I got home too. And my paws trimmed. And my nails trimmed. And my ears cleaned out. Its just not fair. Why does the food lady insist I look good all the time?

Callan

2007-06-14T15:23:00.000-05:00

This is Callan. Callan is a couple of weeks older than Fergus. We met Callan and her sister McKenzie at our first agility trial last fall. Thank goodness for their mom, Jan. Otherwise we would not have made it through the day!! Jan has been a huge supporter, cheerleader and advisor for us. She mentioned to us that she was hoping to breed Callan soon. Andy and I said in passing, "Oh! Put us on the list!!" We never thought we would be chosen for one 0f these pups. Well!!!! Lucky for us, Jan chose us to be parents to one of Callan's puppies born June 2, 2007. The litter was 5 females and 3 males. We can't wait.

This is Callan a few days before the puppies were born.

(Notice the tennis ball still in her mouth??)

THE PUPPIES!!!!!!!

Dock diving

2007-06-14T13:11:00.000-05:00

The food people have tried for a long time to get me to dock dive. I didn't want to do it, not because I'm a weenie but because I just didn't feel like it. That's my style. That's how I roll. Now I am a champ and will be entering my first competition next month.

I love my yellow cuz.

2007-06-14T11:44:00.000-05:00

Yellow cuz you are the best. My life would not be complete without you. No other color will do. The food people have tried to give me other colors. But you are the one and only, yellow cuz. I love you. But not as much as I love food.

I like when my dad throws my cuz off the dock at grandma's.

"I WILL SAVE YOU YELLOW CUZ!!!!!!!"

I also like to take my cuz into the mud. Cuz loves the mud almost as much as I do.

My cuz goes everywhere with me. To the beach, to my grandma's, to the park.

I LOVE MY YELLOW CUZ.

Grandma-ma's BIRTHDAY!

2007-06-14T10:34:00.000-05:00

Today is my great grandma-ma's birthday!!! She loves me very much. Look at her big smile when I sit next to her.

Sometimes she gives me some ham sandwich. But don't tell my mom and dad. They may not be happy that someone is giving me ham sandwich.

These are the food people.

2007-06-13T15:32:00.001-05:00

They don't give me enough food though. Or treats. I am starving most of the time.

I love the mud!!!

2007-06-13T15:25:00.000-05:00

2007-06-13T15:18:00.000-05:00

Hi, my name is Fergus

2007-06-13T12:45:00.000-05:00

Hi, my name is Fergus. I am almost 3 years old and am a golden retriever. I live in Chicago and do agility, flyball and in a few weeks I am doing a dock diving competion. (Last time my mom and dad took me, I wouldn's jump off the dock, but I did strut around and make people laugh.)

I love swimming, the beach, the park, seeing my friends, going to parties and eating. You can call me many things, however, please don't ever call me late for dinner. Or breakfast. Or a snack.