NEW Dog Trick Video by Jasmine! :)

FINALLY!!! Here is Jasmine's NEWEST Dog Trick video! (I had some trouble publishing it in HD, and it took forever to upload!) But TA DA!! It's finally done!! =)

NEW MAILBOX TRICK!

I think I'm going to start a new thing. "TRICK OF THE MONTH". This will motivate me to keep working with Jaz on new stuff! (She gets a lot of practice on the old stuff when we volunteer at the hospital.) Here's this month's new trick: Get the Mail!

I sent this one it to Letterman. So maybe we can get back to NY again with this one. Odds are they won't use the shopping cart trick, because they don't like to use tricks that are similar. And on the last show they had Norman the Briard pushing a scooter. And this next show, I know one of our friends is going, and her dog also does a trick with wheels. So... that's why I wanted to come up with something different! :) And... if they don't pick this one, well then we'll just keep trying! My friend Lauren (and her dog Paige) had to audition 3 x's before they were finally on the show! (She's my hero!) The secret to accomplishing your dreams: Just keep trying- and eventually it will happen. :)

New Mailbox Trick

This is still a work in progress.... but I just wanted to share our progress! This is Jasmine's latest trick! "Get the Mail". Since she is so food motivated, it was VERY easy to teach her to open the mailbox! I just put turkey inside! And now she can get the letters, so I just need to teach her to go close it! And then practice a lot to make it smooth! :)

I also need to figure out what to attach the mailbox to so that she doesn't tip it over when she puts her weight on it. (But yet, is still portable enough to take with us for trick shows.) Any ideas?

I'm still working on making a new trick video that has all her tricks on it- old and new. I've been re-filming them in HD. And then editing takes a long time! But I found a song I like! So that's 1/2 the battle right there! :D

Today's Hospital Visits

Today we volunteered at the hospital again. We spent the whole time in the children's center as usual! I brought along some new props, so we we could add a few new tricks to our routine!

We volunteer for about 2 hours. And there are usually a few patients we really connect with. Today we started on the 7th floor making our rounds. Room 706 was my favorite room today. There was a little 6 year old boy lying in the hospital bed watching TV. His older sister (who was maybe 8?) was on the foot of his bed. Both were looking pretty bored. The little freckle-faced boy was especially disengaged. His eyes were kind of glossed over. But they both got so excited when Jasmine came in. Suddenly they were alert. She started doing her first trick (sit pretty) before I even asked her to. (Jasmine's philosophy is less talking, more tricks!) (Which means more treats!) ;) The kids were totally engaged. I went through our little routine. Plus encores. They kept asking, "Can you do sneeze again? Can you do High 5 again? Can you do dance again?" They were so cute. And even the parents were enthralled with Jasmine. The dad was British, so it sounded so cool when he spoke! We spent a long time in that room doing extra tricks- because they were really involved. They wanted to know how I trained her. And how old she was. And what did she look like as a puppy. It was so fun. So that was our international room.

My next favorite room was down on the 5th floor. I lucked out this time, and there were a bunch of kids in the playroom. (Sometimes that's empty when I go.) So I got to do a more involved trick show for a whole group of kids. I liked this one. Because when I walked in, one of the girls that was painting had tears in her eyes. (I'm not sure why.) So when we were doing the show I would specifically ask some of the questions to her. "Do you want to hear Jasmine talk like Scooby Doo?" She nodded her head yes. Then Jaz would do the little routine. And by the time we left, all the kids were laughing and smiling. That's what I live for. I love the sound of children laughing. And for some reason, Jasmine connects better with little kids than adults. She doesn't mind adults. But she LOVES little kids. She doesn't even mind when a bunch of them try to pet her at once. She's so good with them!

The last room we went to, the family didn't speak English. Luckily, dogs transcend all language barriers. I did Jasmine's little trick show, and got the same amount of laughs and smiles as the previous rooms. So even though I couldn't communicate with them, Jasmine could. And she brightened their day.

So... this is why I like to volunteer. It just makes my heart happy to see other people enjoying Jasmine's little tricks. Jasmine loves the attention and the treats. And the kids love her visits. It's a win-win.

Jasmine's Petsmart Commercial

Jasmine's Petsmart commercial is out! Wow- a commercial and a calendar all in one month! This is a fun month for Jaz! :)

Petsmart had a contest where people submitted video clips saying, "I can't guarantee my dog won't..."

Mine originally said, "I can't guarantee Jasmine won't slobber on the remote!" But they did a voice over and changed the words. (Which is fine with me!!) Here it is! :D

2012 CALENDAR DOG!!! =D

YAY!!!! Jasmine is featured in the 2012 Dog Fancy Page-A-Day calendar!! =)

We just got our copy today in the mail! (A surprise Fed Ex package was waiting for me when I got home from work!) Inside were 2 calendars! I knew last year that Jaz was chosen to be on the calendar, I just didn't know when they were being released. (We got an early copy. They don't come out in stores until September.)

Jasmine is featured on Oct. 11th!! =D YAY!!! So now, October 11, 2012 is official Jasmine Day!!! =D (at least in my book!)

Here's the outside of the box, and her page! :D I'm so glad they sent me two copies!! Now I can use one and save one for a keepsake!! :D

The voting begins!

Last week, we went to a doggy casting call. And now the voting period has begun! It's crazy because they allow you to vote as many times a day as you want! (This is good and bad!) I thought since it was a local contest, we would have better odds. But the unlimited voting had me overwhelmed! But some very cool friends convinced me to keep going- and they would keep voting for Jaz. So we've been doing it. And Jasmine has over 10,000 votes and rising!

The contest runs until Sept. 15th. And if we can finish it the Top 5, a panel of judges will then select a dog to have an editorial spread in their next magazine! So that's what we're trying for!!
And the competition is fierce! Those votes keep rising- but because of some very awesome friends, Jasmine's votes keep going up too! So as of today, she's in the Top 5. (But it's constantly fluctuating!) So... we'll see! THANK YOU to everyone who is voting for Jaz!!!! You guys are wonderful!!! And no matter what happens, I sure appreciate your efforts! We'll give it all we got...and hope for the best!! =D Here's the link to vote!

http://www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com/dog-days-of-summer-2011/voting/170.html?msg=voted

Special Trick Show for Jaz's Ohio Fans! :)

You know how it's always fun when you meet someone who knows someone who knows you? I call it the 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon (in the real world). Well it happened to us!

There's a lady who goes to my church. She was talking to her grandkids in Ohio. They told her all about this trick dog they like to watch on YouTube! Turns out it's Jaz! The kids were impressed when they found out the grandma lived in the same city as Jasmine!

So... this week they came out to visit their grandma. And we came over to do a special trick show for them. (Which was really fun!) Jaz loves kids. And I'm pretty sure they love Jaz! Good times had by all! :) (These kids were so cute!!)






Here's some of the tricks we did:

Please please vote for Jaz!! (Doggy Casting Call!)

Please Vote For Jaz!!!

Last week, we went to the AZ Foothills Doggy Casting Call! And now is the official voting round! From now until September, they are having a voting contest!

http://www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com/dog-days-of-summer-2011/voting/170.html?msg=voted

You have to type in the words you see (to prove you're not a robot!), then you click vote. And you can vote as many times as you want! It's unlimited! (Which is both good and bad. )

So that means I need a LOT of help!! This is a local contest, so there aren't as many participants, however people can vote as many times as they want each day. So the vote count is already past 4000!! (And right now, Jaz just passed 2000!) I turned on a movie tonight, and just watched it- voting over and over. (And we're still about 2000 votes behind!) So this is where I am asking for your help!! Will you please take a minute and go vote for Jaz? If I can make it to the top 5, then a panel of judges will pick from there. So... I'm really hoping we have a chance to at least be considered. The winner gets to be in their magazine!

Anyway- thank you so much for supporting Jaz!!! :D

As you can tell from the picture, it was SOOO hot out! All the dogs in the pictures are panting!! (Jaz would drink the water I brought, but she didn't even want her treats, because she was so hot!) You could submit a photo online, but you automatically got 1000 votes if you showed up to the doggy casting call. (Plus, it was good practice for Jaz to perform with distractions.)