Cute Dog Daily Prizes!

Remember when Jaz was "Cute Dog of the Month"? Well, she just got her a box of prizes in the mail from CuteDogDaily.com! (and also got to greet the UPS guy!) Jasmine usually thinks that everyone who comes to the front door is there to see her, but in this case, it was actually true!

Jaz actually got a couple of different packages! (Equally as exciting each time the UPS guy rang the doorbell!)
EO for Dogs- sent us a lavendar & aloe shampoo, conditioner, and detangler
Drs. Foster & Smith- sent us a Busy Buddy Bone (and refills) and also a doggy seatbelt & harness
CuteDogsDaily.com sent us 2 T-shirts!

Not bad for just being cute! ;) If you want to enter your dog, just go to CuteDogsDaily.com!

It was kind of funny because I opened the box from Drs. Foster & Smith, then left it on the coffee table. In the morning, I jumped out of bed because I heard some weird sounds in the living room. It turns out Jaz really wanted that Busy Buddy Bone at 4:45 am, and was trying to get it out of the plastic container! It was kinda cute, and I would have tried to videotape it if I wasn't so tired!! ;)

Meet & Greet Party Blog Hop!

So... today we decided to participate in the Meet & Greet Party Blog Hop sponsored by DogTipper.com!

A little bit about us:

I have a 5 year old Havanese named Jasmine (Jaz) who loves to do tricks! We do agility, media work (commercials, photo shoots), and dog therapy at the hospital. :)

Jasmine was trained using clicker training (positive reinforcement), and knows a ton of tricks and behaviors. Jaz is VERY food motivated!! (That's why she loves to do her tricks- anything to get a treat!) Every Friday, we go to a children's hospital to volunteer as a dog therapy team. We go room to room, and say hi to each of the kids. They get to pet her for a while, then Jaz will start pawing me, which means it's time to start the trick show! (Because she wants her treats!) The kids absolutely love it. This is probably the highlight of what I do with Jaz.

I usually blog about "All that Jaz"! (Which translates to ALL the many variety of dog things we are involved in!) I post about anything and everything dog-related. Our latest YouTube trick video, our agility training, auditions/photo shoots/contests, our hospital visits, experiences with friends/family/other dogs, or just random funny dog things I come across on the internet!

I'm currently writing a book about all the valuable life lessons I have learned through my experience with Jasmine. A section of it is published every other month in the Havanese Breed magazine. (This was such a good opportunity for me... because I've been wanting to write this book for a while, but when do you make the time?) So by having small, realistic deadlines, it's helping me accomplish my much bigger goal! And pretty soon, I'll be able to combine it all together into a book! :) My style is somewhere in between two of my favorite authors: John Grogan (Marley & Me) and Mitch Album (Tuesdays with Morrie, Have A Little Faith).

Recently, I was asked to be a speaker at the BarkWorld Expo in Atlanta this fall! (which is quite an honor!) And I get to bring Jaz!! =D http://www.barkworldexpo.com/ We're going to be speaking with our YT friends Lauren & her dog Paige! And basically tell our stories about how our dogs became popular and were hired because of social media (Mainly YouTube and Facebook!)

So... that's us in a nutshell!

If you want to come say hi...

We're on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyFavoritePupJasmine

And Twitter: http://twitter.com/MyFavPupJasmine

And of course, YouTube!! http://www.youtube.com/MyFavoritePupJasmine

Star Wars Chewbacca Dog!!

Introducing.... The Star Wars Chewbacca Dog!!! LOL!! My friend emailed me this picture, and I had to share!! We have a little Shih-tzu named Toddy who we think looks like an Ewok or sometimes Chewbacca... but this one is AWESOME!!!

I love Star Wars. And I love Dogs. This just made my day! Here's a pic of my Chewbacca! ;)

Haute or Not Pets

Jasmine's shopping video is being featured on the Haute Or Not website! =)

http://www.hauteornotpets.com/entry/jasmine_goes_shopping

Woohoo! =)

Trip to the Vet

Let me just start this post by saying: I have a REALLY nice vet. She is very sweet. Very knowledgeable. And very good with animals. And has a good rapport established with the owners as well. That being said... Jasmine still does not care for any trip to the vet! As soon as we walk in the door, she turns around and wants to leave.

And we had to go in yesterday to get some tests so Jasmine can renew her certification to be a therapy dog. Jaz had already gotten her shots earlier last month, so this was just some blood work, a fecal test, and a heart worm test. (And assuming those all come back negative, which I think they will, we should be good to go...) =)
When I was a kid and had to go to the doctor to get tests, my mom always would take me to get a milkshake after the appointment if I was good. So I had brought along a Nylabone Toro Braid (the one with bacon). Normally Jasmine just LOVES these... it's her favorite treat ever. But I tried to give it to her in the exam room to distract her. She just licked it a few times. Then went around smelling the room some more. However in the car ride home, she went at it! But it was well deserved. Jasmine was very good for the vet. (even if she doesn't like going!)

Training 2 Dogs...

Jasmine is always willing to do her tricks. But Toddy... not so much. He gets by on his cute looks more than his brains! But he tries hard! And eventually will catch on to what I'm asking for!

This is proof than any breed of dog can be trained with clicker training! :)

Pawsh Magazine Runner-Up-- and still won a prize!

Pawsh Magazine was having a contest for March's Pet of the Month... and Jasmine lost by one vote! (and she lost to a cat, no less!) (But I didn't tell her that!!) ;)

http://www.pawsh-magazine.com/2011/03/who-will-be-marchs-pet-of-month.html

It was ok, since it was all just for fun anyway. But then I was pleasantly surprised when the nice people from Blanket ID decided to award BOTH of us the prize!! =D So Jasmine got to pick out her very own Blanket ID. (OK- well, I picked it out for her!) This is the one I like the best: It just came in the mail today. I had never heard of these before Jaz won one. I like it. It's got a cute design on one side- and an ID # on the back. If your dog gets lost, they contact all the local animal shelters and animal hospitals in your zip code to help you reunite with your pet. (and you can print "LOST DOG" posters from their website with your pup's picture and info on it.) If you change your phone #, you just change it online, instead of getting a new ID tag made. And this sounds trivial, but I like that it's so small- and that you only need one tag. (Then they won't jingle.) Jaz is microchipped. But I found out that there are many different kinds of microchips and it requires different kind of scanners. (Which is lame). Plus, some people don't know to even check if a dog is microchipped. But this Blanket ID is pretty obvious- without giving out too much personal info. I'm glad Jaz won this. :)

America's Got Talent- 2 minutes of Dog Tricks

Here's some cute little dog tricks! I decided just for fun to submit a video to America's Got Talent. Usually they like more flashy dogs- the freestyle dogs, or the frisbee dogs. But I submitted this anyway.... you never know. :)

"Dog of the Month" at CuteDogsDaily.com!

Jasmine got picked to be "Dog of the Month" at CuteDogsDaily.com!! =D How fun is that?!

http://cutedogofthemonth.com/march-2011-winner/

She won:

• 2 Cute Dog Of The Month T-shirts
• 6 Cesar Treat purses
• Gift basket from EO for dogs
• A special prize from Drs. Foster and Smith
  

(I wonder if those t-shirts are for her or me!!) ;) I guess we'll find out! =D