One of the World's Most Talented Trick Dogs!!

WOW!!!  I was quite amazed today when I got notified that Talent Hounds posted that Jasmine was included on a list of the World's Most Talented Trick Dogs!!!  That's quite an honor considering who's on the list!!

http://talenthounds.ca/news/wordless-wednesday/do-you-know-the-most-talented-trick-dogs-in-the-world/

Thank you!!!!  :)    :)    :)

A Dog Halloween Video, Why I Became a Dog Trainer

It's FINALLY done!!!   Halloween has gone to the dogs!  



Here's our newest Halloween dog trick video!  

Why settle for Tricks *OR* Treats when you can have both!!  :)

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Many people have asked me why I spend so much time/ energy training my dogs and making videos.  I think I've finally figured out the answer.
1)  Because Jasmine LOVES it.  I'm not joking.  She LOVES training.  Because I use positive reinforcement, she gets really good treats whenever we practice.  So if even walk by the treat counter, she will start doing her trick resume, trying to get something from me.  As long as she enjoys doing it, I'll keep training and doing little tricks shows with her.
2)  I started making cute trick videos as a way of sharing Jasmine's talents to more people.  Because based on our experiences as a therapy dog team, I know how her simple little tricks can bring smiles and happiness to someone who is having a rough day.  And based on the friends I've made internationally through Jasmine, I know that dogs can be the bridge between cultures and people of all backgrounds.  They can bring a laugh or smile to anyone's face.

3) But it has even evolved from this.  Dog training has become a passion for me.  Visiting dogs in the shelters, it dawned on me that the vast majority of these dogs have never been given the proper tools to succeed.  They were never trained.  I have friends who volunteer at shelters and rescue groups to work with the training the dogs.  Dogs are more likely to be adopted if they can even sit on command.  
So then even if someone's circumstances change, and they need to re-home their dog, they're more likely to find a new owner for a well-trained, well-socialized dog.   So my conclusion is that if more people invested the time to train their dogs in the beginning, less dogs would end up being dumped at the shelters or just abandoned.   I personally consider dogs to be members of the family.  We try to teach our children to play nice and have good manners.  So why wouldn't we teach our pets this?   

THIS is my new reason why I make and share Jasmine's trick videos.  I hope to inspire others to work with their dogs.  They don't have to do tricks.  But just teaching basic obedience gives the dog a better chance in life.  So, this is my little way of making the world a more positive place.  :)

P.S.  When I first got Jasmine, I had never trained a dog in my life.  I just read books, and took classes.  I am not a professional dog trainer.  We just learned together.   And that's what helped create our strong bond.  And just look at what Jaz can do now!  It's living proof that if I can do it, anyone can do it!!  :)

Birthday Party Trick Show

Last Saturday, we performed at a little girl's 7th birthday party!  We did a trick show in the park!  It turned out really cute.  :)    

Here's some highlights from our show:

After each show, I have the kids line up.  

So they can take turns either petting Jasmine or shaking her hand.  (I usually limit it to one kid at a time.  But obviously, this was a new trick.  Two handshakes at once!)   Jaz isn't even looking at the kids.  She's staring at the treats in my hand!  Lol.

After they pet her, each kid gets a stamp on their hand if they want one.  This is Jasmine's "Pawtograph"!  It's Jasmine's real paw print.  My friend had this made into a stamp for me as  Christmas present.  (And we get a lot of use out of it!!)   :)

Jasmine's video is on GodVine!

I was really shocked this morning when one of my friends posted on facebook:  

"That's our Jasmine"  with this link:

http://www.godvine.com/Incredibly-Smart-Little-Dog-Does-the-Cutest-Tricks-2938.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=3-6-2013#.UTjWaNdYsUc.facebook

I looked at the picture and thought- OH MY GOSH!  That's MY DOG!!!  LOL...

What a fun surprise.  :)

Jasmine's New Trick Resume!

Jasmine has a new trick video!! This is all the tricks she knows so far... as of March 2012. :)

But I'm always open to new suggestions! If you think of any new tricks I should teach Jaz, please let me know!! My friend just loaned me her son's old skateboard, so I'm excited to try that out!

Havanese Breed Magazine- Article #6

I am a freelance writer for the Havanese Breed magazine. They publish a continuing series on lessons I have learned from Jasmine. Eventually I plan on combining all these articles into a book. I've wanted to write one for a while, but just have never made the time for it. (I get kind of busy with my regular life!) ;) By writing for this magazine, it gives me small short-term goals that I can accomplish, that will eventually lead to my larger goal of publishing a book! When I was in college, and feeling overwhelmed, my mom always asked me... "How do you eat an elephant?" The answer is: "One bite at a time". (Metaphorically speaking!!)

So, here's last month's article! I converted it from an adobe file to a jpeg file, so hopefully you can still read it. (I think if you double click on the pictures, it will make them bigger.)

The links don't work as a jpeg, so I'll include them below if you want to watch the videos that I mention in the article.

Visiting the kids at school:

Jasmine's best dog tricks:

Dog Goes Shopping- Jaz's most popular video:

Jasmine's new video made the news!

Jasmine's new Christmas video made the news!!

It's featured right now on the ABC 15 website.

And they said it might be airing today (Dec 26th) on the 3:00 or 4:00 newscast. (If it doesn't get bumped for real news!)

Pretty fun! I just barely uploaded that video on Saturday (Christmas Eve), and it's only been 2 days. But it's received over 4,300 views!! WOW!

Well, I hope you guys all had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones.

If Jaz does end up making it on TV later today, I'll try to get a copy to share with you guys.

Have a wonderful week. :)

Santa Paws- Santa's Little Helper

It's done!! Just in the nick of time!! Here's Jasmine's new Christmas video!!

I somehow got it into my head that I wanted to make a Christmas video, and didn't start it until Dec. 20th! So I had 5 days to get all this together!! I couldn't have done it without some wonderful friends. My friend Deena helped brainstorm the plot, Mindy came over to help record and be the "key grip"! (whatever that is!) lol. Luke donated his time to be Santa. And mostly, my friend Stacy spent the last 4 days LIVING at my house- helping me film, be the creative director, and piece it all together! We went around the neighborhood, hoping to that my neighbors who owned dogs would be home!! But it worked!

There's no way I could have pulled this off without these people! THANK YOU for making this happen!!!!

And to everyone- MERRY CHRISTMAS from Jasmine!!!

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas with your friends and loved ones. (Both human and furry!)

(and to answer your question, yes, I did have to hot glue those cookies to the plate!!) ;)

Hide and Seek- Games to Play with your dog

We invented a new game to play on rainy days. (It doesn't snow much where I live.)

Jasmine HATES going out for a walk in the rain. (Even though she has a rain coat to keep her mostly dry!) But not dry enough! My house still ends up smelling like wet dog! So we stay inside as much as possible on rainy days.

We have to invent new games to keep ourselves entertained when we're stuck inside. So we made up this game!

It didn't take Jasmine long to figure this one out. :) Now that she knows this will get her a treat, she's trying to do it all the time!

Thirsty? Bring Me A Drink

Jaz has learned a new trick!! We've been working on this one for a little while now.

Jasmine can open the fridge and bring me a drink! Ok yes, it's a small juice box. But I tried it with a mini soda can, and a mini water bottle. She had a hard time gripping those with her teeth. She would bite down, and it would shoot across the room. So... we had to adapt! And find something more suited to her size! And here's the final result:

The good news is... I'm glad I don't own a big dog. If she was, and I taught her this trick... there would be no food left in my refrigerator when I got home from work!!! So I'm happy Jaz is a little dog! ;)

Hawaii Tours.com Commercial

Remember when Jaz when to California without me to shoot a commercial? (My brother drove her out there!)

Jaz was one of the dogs running on the beach for the HawaiiTours.com commercial! I knew she would do a sit/ stay/ come without me there, so I wasn't too worried about it. If they wanted her to do any tricks, I would have had to go along! She came back SOO dirty and sandy! But from what I heard, she had a blast filming this! She had never seen the ocean before and loved chasing after the waves! We'll definitely have to go back!

Here's the final product!

Jaz on TV in England again! :D

This has been the month for international doggy appearances! Jasmine was on TV in Japan again yesterday, and the footage is really cute! (My friend Miki recorded it for me!) My brother speaks Japanese, so he's going to translate it! But it looks really funny!

And my friend Hannah (from London) sent me this footage of Jasmine on the BBC show "Who Let The Dogs Out?" (Which I'm really grateful for!) Otherwise I would never have been able to see this!

Jasmine Visits the Elementary School!

Yesterday, Jasmine and I went to visit an elementary school! :D

All the 3rd graders just finished reading a book called "Rosie The Visiting Dog", so they wanted to meet a real life therapy dog! Jasmine and I went and had SO MUCH FUN!!!!

We talked about what you had to do to be a therapy dog, what we did at the hospital, answered questions, and then gave a little trick show. Then each kid got to pet Jasmine before we left.

The questions they asked us were hilarious!

Such as: "Do you ever go to somewhere where old people live?"

"Is your dog a full bred or a 1/2 bred?"

"Is your dog a boy or a girl?" (I had them guess - considering her name is Jasmine!)

"Can your dog jump through a flaming hoop?" (A good opportunity to explain about fire safety and how not to injure your dog!)

"Can your dog do a windmill?" (I asked if that was like a cartwheel, and no, it's not. It's like break-dancing.) So I said "no, probably not."

Jaz jumped through some hoops. (Graciously borrowed from the P.E. department because I forgot mine!!)

Jaz showed off her "Dog Goes Shopping" skills...

And last but not least, each child got an opportunity to pet her. It was SOOO MUCH fun!!!

I got some video of it- and I'll post that as soon as I'm done editing it! :D

P.S. A special THANK YOU to my friend Stacy who came to help take pics, video, and help me carry all Jaz's props!! I couldn't have done it without her!! :D

New job! CPA- That's Canine Personal Assistant! ;)

Guess what, Jasmine got a job! She's now a CPA! (That's a Canine Personal Assistant, lest you get it confused with a Certified Public Accountant!) She's very handy to have around! ;)

I highly recommend you get one too! ;)