Sunday, November 20, 2011

Staying In Shape

I'm part border collie and part Labrador so I have lots and lots of energy.  My border collie ancestors were bred and trained to gather and herd animals like sheep.  Lots of my cousins still work on farms herding all kinds of animals including cows.
My Labrador ancestors were bred and trained to retrieve game birds.  My friend Sadie is a Lab and is really good at putting up and retrieving birds.
Unlike Sadie and my farm cousins, I spend most of my days inside working behind a desk.  That's why it's important for me to get as much exercise as I can.  Good exercise like walking and playing not only keep me fit but keep me from getting bored.
I have lots of toys at work and at home to play with and my mom tries to take me for a walk every day but there are times when we get so busy she can't leave the Studio so she's found other ways to make sure get my exercise.  When Mom can't take me out I get to go for walks with my friend Lee Ann.  Lee Ann doesn't have any dogs of her own so she takes me and some of my other friends for walks.  Sometimes we dogs play tag or catch and when I get back to the Studio, I'm so tired I need to take a nap.
I love when Mom has all day meetings because I get to go to Dances With Dogs day care.  Being in day care is the BEST.   I get to play with lots of dogs all day long.  We get to play indoors and outdoors.  In the summer they have pools where we can cool off and the toys!  I've never seen so many toys in one place and I can play with all of them.
The people at Dances With Dogs are really nice too.  They make sure I get my lunch to keep my energy up and a nap so I don't get over tired.  Even with a nap, I am so tired when it's time to go, I usually sleep all the way home.
If Mom and Dad need to be away on a weekend Deborah my pet sitter from All Life Matters comes to my house to walk me, feed me lunch and play with me.
Balance in life is important.  Working hard is good but you need to make sure you get plenty of exercise, eat right and get enough rest.  That goes for dogs too.  Dogs, especially working breeds, need lots of exercise.  If we don't get enough exercise or if we get bored, we can get destructive and nobody wants that.   So, I've designed our Good Dog Spot gift basket with lots of toys to keep any dog busy and happy.  A happy dog is a good dog.
Stay healthy, stay happy.
Your friend,
Zeva

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

I Am A Hero...Again

That was scary!  I was headed outside to the little dog's room.  As soon as I rounded the corner there they were...a million giant birds!!! Well maybe not a million but there were alot and there were giant.
As soon as I saw them I raised the alarm.  I needed to alert the whole neighborhood.  Like I said, there were alot of them.  I let out my "Look Out We're Being Attacked" bark and started running.  I was running away from them at first but I did get it together and ran after them eventually.   They were scattering in different directions so I needed all of my Border Collie skills to herd them. They could run pretty fast and they flew up into the trees.  Did you ever see a giant bird fly?  It's not a pretty sight.  Also they're not very coordinated and would never score well in agility.
And the noise they made, like I said it was scary.
Once I made sure our yard was secure, I checked on my mom who came out to see what was going on.  She explained to me that the giant birds were a flock of turkeys.
Turkeys.
Where had I heard that word before? Oh yeah. Turkeys are a big part of Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving is one of our big holidays at the Studio.  Over the past week we've been making up the gift baskets and setting up our delivery schedule. We're going to be delivering a Thanksgiving gift basket to some people in Longmeadow on Saturday. We're also getting some packaged up and ready for Fed Ex to take to other people who live far away from us.  Mom says gift baskets are nice gifts to send over the holidays when you can't be with family and friends.
Since I am very involved in the business, I've been keeping my eye on the calendar to make sure we get all the gifts delivered on time.  After all, Thanksgiving is only a few days away.
Thanksgiving is a holiday so I won't have to work that day. Everybody at our house will be eating a big turkey and having other great stuff like pie and cake.  I just hope they remember that I like turkey and I get to have some again this year.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
Your friends,
Zeva