Do YOU Tether-ball?

Dazzle does.

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Dazzle loves Tether-ball.

Even though she has not cared about it in the past 3 years, she now can't live without it.

Who is to blame for this? Jackson.

Jackson has always loved Tether-Ball.

Now is this a happy dog or what?

As I said before, it takes a few days before Daz will accept Jackson, usually just a day or two before J goes home. Sure enough - the red monster is going home soon and now Dazzle thinks he is the greatest playmate ever.

So I don't have any more evil Dazzle pictures.

Only nice, friendly, pretty dogs this time.

In case you didn't know,

Dazzle is the queen of tennis balls.

She pursues them with unmatched grace and speed

She never misses her glowing green target.

Well, almost never. And she is graceful, most of the time.

She doesn't like it when I make fun of her. She just wants me to shut my mouth and throw. the. ball.

Now is J not the most handsome Aussie you have ever seen?

I can't stop taking pictures of him!

Everything he does is irresistibly cute.

He is just so gosh darn photogenic!

Poor Daz feels left out with J being so cute all the time.

Maybe that is the real reason that Daz doesn't like him...

I am finding out just how weird/cool pictures can come out with my 17mm lens.

I think Jackson likes it.

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And Dazzle definitely likes it.

Because I have never had a wide angle enough lens before to show you this, here is our little park where we play.

It isn't huge, but it is pretty flat with plenty of grass and that is good enough for the dogs.

That is where we are headed now - this weather and these blue skies are almost to good to be true.

Yes, another stupid plea for votes! The contest ends on February 29th and Dazzle is almost in the lead again! Please stop by and give her a vote for just a few more days.

http://worldwidefido.com/watch/3738/dazzles-puppy-days

Bummer

It has been awhile, and a lot of stuff has happened! .
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First of all, I hurt myself....bad.

I took a bad fall while bouldering and tore my ACL and meniscus. Basically that means surgery, lots of PT, and a very very long recovery time - which is the real bummer. No rock climbing, no running, no hiking, no dog agility, no dog Frisbee, etc etc. However - I will be able to bike, so that is good news. At least I can stay active somehow....

If you are curious, more info about ACL tears can be found here.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the day after I did that I got the flu. I couldn't even throw a ball or talk (much to Dazzle's horror). It was a pretty miserable 2 weeks, but once the flu went away I was feeling much better and the knee seemed like no biggie.

Oh, and did I say no Dog Agility? Well, that isn't exactly true. I would die if that were true.

Hmmm...

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THAT is how we are going to do our next trial! Well, except I will be the one driving, not Dazzle.

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It is very different to handle your dog from a seated position on a little motorized scooter, but we are getting along okay so far. More about that later.

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February 1st was little miss Peanut's 7th Birthday!

What do we do on birthdays? Photo shoots!

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Annnndddd.... (see I told you, lots of news, and you aren't even half though yet!)

February 5th was my birthday! Maybe not the best birthday, what with the flu and being unable to walk, but a good one none the less.

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*ppptttthhhh*

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More exciting news, for the first time with the new camera, we went to the zoo!

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So we went to an agility trial (just after 2 hours of practice with the scooter....)

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We actually did OK considering. We got our first Elite Chances Q (maybe I should be on a scooter more often?!?) and Dazzle (for the first time ever) got to run with a different handler, and she Q'd! She also finished her Outstanding Elite Tunnelers title!

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Peanut was there too. Unlike the super-Dazzle she was actually pretty stressed by the scooter and the scooter's highest speed isn't enough to make her run top speed through a course so although she was running clean she wasn't making time. I don't think I will do any more trials with her until I can run again because I don't want her to practice going slow and stressing in the ring....

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the directly above and below photos by Joe Camp

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Video:

I got to take more doggie photos of course at the trial. I couldn't climb down in the dirt so these are taken from the bleachers, sort of a different perspective than usual for agility pictures.....

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(again these are all taken with the 85mm f/1.8 lens)

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And yet more news!!

Guess who has come to stay again?

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And now guess who isn't so happy about that.

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It's Jackson! The red Aussie boy!

Here to stay for a week while his family goes to Hawaii. . .

Dazzle is pissed.

She tends to warm up to him right about when he goes home, and then when we get him again - she hates him again. Crazy dog. Jackson likes her though, and he couldn't care less if she tries to bite his head off!
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Such a good boy.
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Such a bad girl.



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'till next time....

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Oh one more thing - Happy Valentine's day!
OK wait, one last thing. Really, I promise this is the last thing.

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Daz is in a video contest and need people to vote for her. All you have to do is go to the link and click on the bone beneth the video. You are allowed to vote once per day, so keep going back!

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Help make Dazzle the "Cutest Dog" on Worldwide Fido!