Since we are wanting to start agility lessons I’m looking into our different options around here.

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ACE Agility Club
(Palmer, MA )

Rebecca Wong
Email: kaneonapua@yahoo.com
589 North St
Feeding Hills, MA 01030-1309
(413) 786-5344
Affiliations: NADAC,USDAA

Services: Agility Classes, Indoor Training

Agility Classes: Beginner & Intermediate classes offered April through November

Indoor Training: Riding arena (60′ x 100′

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Crystal Wright-Partyka
(East Otis, MA )

Crystal Wright-Partyka
Email: rhastadog@aol.com
P.O. Box 247
Blandford, MA 01008
(413) 269-7326
Affiliations: None

Services: Agility Classes, Facility Rental

Agility Classes: Outdoor agility, packed sand surface

Additional Comments: Location for classes: 446 Lee-Westfield Rd., East Otis, MA 01029 Master level instructors; weekday (day & evening), and weekend classes. Positive methods only. Fully fenced outdoor course.

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Exercise Finished Dog Training Center
(Chicopee, MA )

Email: EFDTCInfo@aol.com
35 B No. Chicopee Street
Chicopee, MA 01020
(413) 533-0049
Affiliations: None

Services: Agility Classes, Facility Rental, Indoor Training, Other Services

Agility Classes: All levels. Competition classes with Elise Paffrath

Facility Rental: 60′ x 80′ agility ring and 40′ x 50′ obedience ring

Indoor Training: Air conditioning, stall matting

Other: Obedience, puppy training and breed handling classes

Additional Comments: Agility Practice sessions on Wednesday and Thursdays. Facility Rental and hourly ring rental available. Exercise Finished is located in the same building as Clean Run.

Dog Dayz of Summer, August 19-20, Stephentown, NY

I am really really excited about this!! There’s workships; demos for agility, frisbee, flyball; vendors for all sorts of doggy things; a swimming pond; a bake sale; a raffle… oh it sounds like so much fun. It’s a weekend deal, and it’s a little drive for us so I think we’ll stay overnight. Our first camping trip with the dogs! Woo hoo!!

Here’s a link to the dog park - we’re going tomorrow! It was apparently opened only this year, on April 22. How lucky are we! I’m so excited. Westfield really needs to get a dog park. I just got Zeeke’s new tags (rabies and license) on his collar, and transferred Zoe’s tags from her old collar to her new one. We’re ready to go!

A good training article: How to teach a solid retrieve with the clicker.

I’m really happy that I found a store online that sells nice martingale collars. Petco doesn’t have any in-store, which annoys the heck out of me, and online Petco and Petsmart have a very very limited selection (3 colors, yuck). Then I found Handcraft Collars. Very nice looking collars! I’m looking at the snap-around martingale collar in 3/4″ width for Zoe. I’m also going to get a matching 6′ leash. Problem is, I can’t decide on a color - I’m torn between Bolivia Blue and simple Burgandy. Burgandy is what color her current collar and leash is, and it looks really really good on her - but the Bolivia Blue pattern is really pretty. Either way I need to get the collar before she starts her obedience class, so I need to order it soon.

Wow, here’s something new:

(from The BC Museum)

Holy moly! I didn’t know that Border Collies come in tan-with-black-tipped fur! That could mean Zoe is a straight Sheltie-BC cross. Here are some pictures of sables from the website:

This is the Belgian Tervuren, which someone suggested Zoe might be crossed with:

Belgian Tervuren are a lot bigger than Zoe: females 22-24″ and 60-70lbs. But look at the colors, especially the black-tipped fur and the black muzzle. Even the shape of the body reminds me of Zoe. So it’s definitely possible. Ironic, too - a herding breed.

Superdogs Canine IQ Test

Zeeke so far has done 8 of the 12 tests and scored a 5 on all but one of them. I always knew he was too damn smart.

I wish I could test Oreo.

Really really great adoption center in Springfield, MA: TJ OConnor Adoption Adoption Center. I was really impressed with the place.

We didn’t find the right dog for us, but she told us a young GSD male will be available for adoption on monday, so we’re going back then to see him. Fingers crossed!

The Truth About Border Collies - very funny article. Snippets:

“Many casual dog owners have mistaken this for an ordinary dog and taken it home. They spend an average of six weeks in rehab getting over the experience.”

“[BC Owners] Have superior verbal skills that allow them to explain to the neighbors why all of their children are standing in a tight group, pinned against the house, under the watchful eye of their BC.”

“Every time a BC stares, there is a single message embedded in the gaze. In the case of my houseguest, the communication was clear: BALL, BALL, BALL, BALL, BALL.”

“BCs are happiest when they are assigned a job with their human partner. The challenge is that when they are left to their own devices, the BC reads the classified ads and goes out to get a job on her own.”

“In the agility ring, these dogs run with afterburners. The crowd hushes. They finish the course in half the allotted time. They compete with each other for tenths of a second. Competitors in these sports who do not have BCs both admire them and pray for a new federal law requiring that they all be sent back to Scotland.”

“Although the BC is bright, their instincts often overshadow their intelligence. Their instinct tells them to chase and control anything that moves. In order to get this job done, the BC will grip or bite moving objects. This is not good when the moving object is a child. Those who worship this dog have a solution. Teach the child not to run.”

“Want to be cool? Get a Border Collie. Want to move a sheep across your 3000 acre ranch? Get two Border Collies. Want to really compete at agility? Get a Border Collie. Want to have a job, a life, and your sanity? Get a Lab.”