Another day, another awesome Van Halen video

First...PUPPIES! No matter how much coffee you've had today, no matter how wide awake you may be, just tell me you wouldn't want to crawl right into this warm fuzzy pile o' puppies and join them for a luxurious nap. I quadruple-dog-dare you to resist.

After tearing myself away from the puppies' window (and resolving to take more naps), I walked Buster. This guy's a fine young border collie. The sign on his window states, in capital block letters, "HIGH ENERGY." Just to cut to the chase, I'll tell you right now that yeah, that is FOR REAL.

Buster's high energy manifests itself in jumping. We work with dogs like Buster on Anti-jump exercises, but it can be a gradual learning process for the dog. As this blog has detailed in the past, a dog jumping on or near people: BAD. By way of contrast, here's an example of GOOD jump:Yes, it's Diamond Dave, circa 1984 when he ruled the known universe. If you could use a video example of "good" jump, which I should more accurately be calling awesome jump, it's right here. Great inspiration for when you're training your dog, or having a drunken pool party on high school graduation night in your parent's back yard.

Back to Buster: he stopped jumping after I entered and re-entered his room a second time; then he was a perfect angel on his walk. Behold!

Connie is a border collie, too. Her thing is lunging (at birds, treats, ghosts, etc.). But check it: after 3 laps around the park, she wasn't lunging any more. A well-exercised border collie is a good border collie. After the 3rd lap we stopped directly behind the goalposts to watch the soccer game through the fence. This is when Connie forgot her fatigue and sprang back to life--turns out she's a soccer dog! She began playing goalie herself, diving for the ball each time it came near (even though it was on the other side of the fence).
She rocks and is fearless. Look for her in the next World Cup. And keep a soccer ball handy if you bring her home with you!

As promised, I am continuing to walk Ferron, on the mend from heartworm treatment. Ferron only gets 5-minute walks and mild exercise while she is recovering. Well, it's been over a month of this and the most significant change I observe in her is that she has now moved straight up to HIGH ENERGY status. You can kinda tell she needs to get out more, except you can't yet allow her to take off sprinting to her nearly-healthy heart's content. So if you adopt this sweet beauty, stock up on some chew toys and prepare for some good long walks and runs...eventually.

As of 4/21/08:

Connie...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION.

Ferron...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION.

Buster...AVAILABLE to be met; can be brought home after his upcoming neutering.