Since I’m ALWAYS in training to learn new tricks and skills, when I stumbled across these Dog Training Pouches from Give a Dog a Home I thought my mom would love them! With plenty of pocket space and a french spring hinge to keep the top open they are perfect for carrying training treats for your dog or even a toy! You can even get them printed with your companies logo or your dog’s name perhaps. I know what I’ll be getting my mom for her next Birthday!
So I packed up my car with all the tools necessary to put on an awesome performance and headed south 2 hours to help support the dachshunds in need!
I brought along a lot of my fun goodies from my shop, which did you know purchases from also help to support the animal rescues as I donate a portion of my sales every year to my favorite animal rescues?
Mom and Dad managed to get everything set up so nicely for me, despite the fact that they were both fighting nasty colds. But hey, the show must go on!
It turned out to be an unusually hot day (for April) with temperatures reaching into the 80’s. So if you caught me lounging around on Sunday – it’s mostly because I wasn’t quite used to the heat!
But when it came time to perform I pulled it together and drew a fantastic crowd to watch me perform!
I performed my skit from last year’s event, with a few added in tricks that I had learned in the past few weeks. Like my beg!
And also rolling my barrel!
The crowd always seems to enjoy the part where my super self jumps through the death defying hoops!
But I’m pretty sure one of my all-time crowd-favorite tricks will always be playing dead. Don’t worry, I always survive this trick!
Here’s a little video of some of the highlights from my performances:
After my first performance of the day I took a short nap in the car (with my fan on) so that I could have the energy to perform again. Sorry to anyone who was looking for me, but a celebrity needs his beauty sleep!
After I was fully rested I was ready to mix and mingle with all the other fabulous dachshunds that attended the event!
I sniffed a whole lotta butts, and enjoyed meeting the HUGE variety of dachshunds that came. From smooth haired to long haired and every color you can imagine!
I even obliged to take the obligatory fan photos!
There was so much to do at the Spring Doxie Fest that I wished I could have tried it all. From wiener dog races, to a sand pit and there was even a flyball demonstration and an agility course.
I had fun watching a talented doxie run the flyball course, and later I got to run through the agility course myself! Check out the instagram video below:
As you can imagine my 2 hour car ride home from the Spring Doxie Fest looked something like this:
I had a blast and was thrilled to help a good cause. It was great meeting some of my fans and I loved being able to show everyone my tricks!
For those of you that attended, what was your favorite part about the Spring Doxie Fest?
As many of you may already know, I’m headed to the Spring Doxie Fest this weekend in Maryland on Sunday. I’ll be making the 2 hour trek south to meet all of my friends!
I will be performing my fun tricks for everyone at 11:15am and 2:15pm, so if you’re attending – you won’t want to miss it!
I’ll also be setting up my booth with lots of fun goodies from prints and cards to magnets, notepads and more!
So if you’re looking for a fun way to spend your Sunday with a bunch of dachshunds – I hope you’ll stop on by. And don’t worry, for those of you that can’t attend I’ll be back next week with a full recap of all my adventures.
As many of you might already know, I have quite the collection of tricks up my sleeve paw. My mom started helping me to learn tricks when I was just a wee pup and at just barely a year old I did my very first live performance at the 2010 Equine Extravaganza Talent Competition with my buddy Minnow the pony. Minnow and I took home the champion title and we’ve never looked back since!
Since then I have gone on to perform at expos, schools, fairs, and I’ve even been spotted in a few television commercials.
While my pony friend Minnow more often than not accompanies me to such performances (he’s been doing this a lot longer than I have), I sometimes have to perform on my own too.
This year I will again be attending the Spring Doxie Fest to benefit the Coast to Coast Dachshund Rescue as their special celebrity performer – which means I need to start working on some new and exciting tricks!
I’ve got a few I’ve been working on (with a few training miss-haps along the way….not to worry, no dachshunds were harmed). But here’s where I need your help! I need your suggestions on what tricks I can add to my performance.
So leave a comment, post them on my Facebook page, or shoot me an e-mail. I’d love to hear what tricks you’d like to see! I know you guys will have some fantastic ideas!
P.S. I’ve been nominated as Best Pet Blog of 2014! And if you have a second and don’t mind voting for me I’d be forever grateful! You can vote once per email! Just click this link and then scroll down to the Best Pet Blog section, check off the grey circle under Ammothedachshund.com, and scroll to the bottom to enter your email. Thanks for voting!
This past weekend was packed of lots of fun things. On Sunday mom hit up the National Pet Expo in Harrisburg, Pa. I was a little miffed she didn’t bring me along, but apparently dogs weren’t allowed in the adjoining Horse World Expo – so I had to stay home this time.
Mom said there was lots of fun doggie entertainment including trick performances, flyball demos, agility, doggie dancing, and even dock diving!
The Dock Dogs put on a great show according to mom, and her video had me wishing I was brave enough to dive like that myself.
There was lots of dogs of all shapes and sizes at the National Pet Expo – although I’m not entirely positive that this gal isn’t half sheep as well?
But dogs weren’t the only ones there – this little Nigerian Dwarf Goat totally stole the show in his cute little pj’s.
Before mom headed home from the expo she also checked out the Horse World Expo, where she swung by the Bitless Bridle booth and spotted my pal Boomerang’s photo advertising the versatility of these bridles. (My mom is the one wearing a red shirt in the photos).
After mom got home (and I begged her for the details on the expo), we settled in to watch the Oscars with host Ellen DeGeneres! I of course wore my super hero ensemble in honor of the “heroes” theme!
I especially loved watching the compilation of cartoon super heroes!
But I have to admit some of the scenes were a bit scary – even for a hero!
I made it until about 11pm – but sometimes even super heroes can’t stay up past their bedtime!
I awoke the next morning to another blanket of snow! (that groundhog was right for once predicting 6 more weeks of winter).
My fuzzy pony friends don’t seem to mind the cold at all, but when it is in the single digits I just can’t hang outside in the cold for long!
It was still fun for as long as I lasted though!
So how was your weekend? Did you go on any fun adventures?
Over the weekend I decided to go on a sledding adventure at the farm. So I grabbed my favorite ponies (Minnow, Blitz and Boomer) and hitched them to a sled for some fun!
Trooper and I had a blast chasing the sleds – we even made it a little friendly competition out of who could get there first. (it was me incase you were wondering)
Dad even broke out his snowboard for a little more “extreme” fun. We’re a little unconventional around here.
You can bet I’ll be doing some sledding again real soon!
Make sure you stop by and visit the Painting Pony Blog today to see more fun videos of me sledding with the ponies!
What I thought was just a typical car ride for me turned into an unexpected pit stop the other day when I found myself arriving at my vet’s office.
I must admit, shots and a physical exam are never on my to-do list, but it’s a necessary evil I guess.
As friendly as the staff at my vet’s office is, I’m just never my typical happy tail wagging self. I can’t help it when my first REAL memory at the vet is being neutered!
While I was waiting for my turn in the exam room I did find a happy little surprise. My Halloween costume made the bulletin board, and it turns out I won first place for the best character costume. How cool!
When it was finally my turn to be examined I tried to put on a brave face.
Mom helped a bit by bringing along one of my favorite snacks, peanut butter. She’s been carrying it around in her pocket for weeks and using it to help me build a positive association with things I’m a little scared of. (the vet, the vacuum, etc). I have to admit, peanut butter does help make everything a little bit better!
My vet came in and examined my weight and body condition, and I had a few routine tests done before getting my annual vaccines.
I’m happy to report that I got a clean bill of health, clocking in at 18.8 pounds my vet said that I’m in perfect condition and weight for my size. My blood test even came back negative for lyme after I tested positive last year for anaplasmosis (a type of lyme). So it’s great that there was no traces of it found in my body this year.
I hope your puppies are feeling happy and healthy too!
Next week I’ll be sharing just how I keep my body in tip top shape – perfect timing right before Thanksgiving, so stay tuned!
You might have noticed that some of my photos have been looking a little bit different lately.
Dare I even say a bit more “professional”?
No, I haven’t hired a professional photographer, mom has just been getting a little camera happy after she purchased me some studio backdrops…..fancy right?
It’s the perfect excuse to have a little photoshoot! And while we’re still just using natural light to snap my photos, mom hopes maybe someday we’ll add some real studio lighting to the mix for an even more professional look!
For now I’m just enjoying feeling like a celebrity and practicing for when I have my own big deal modeling gig!
Pretty soon the paparazzi is gonna start following me around and I’ll be as big a deal as the Kardashians!
But don’t worry, when I’m uber famous I’ll still be the same old cowboy I’ve always been!
And perhaps you’ll fall in love with me even more!
But for now I’m quite content just being me, the King of my own backyard!
For those of you who follow me on Facebook I’m sure you have been on the edge of your seats waiting for me to share all my adventures from this past weekend at the Yuengling Oktoberfest event in Bethlehem, Pennyslvania.
Well after obtaining my special Puppy Pass (for VIP Dachshunds only) I was excited to attend my very first Oktoberfest!
I was super excited to see some fellow germans at the Oktoberfest – I felt right at home immediately!
I had fun touring around the event, everything smelled so wonderful, especially the sausages and beer!
I quickly began to make new friends – the german ladies loved me, what can I say I’m a handsome guy!
Even the children couldn’t keep their hands off me!
I had fun soaking up the culture, and after watching some german dances I was definitely ready for the main event – the Dachshund Races!
The Dachshunds came from all over to race, and there was even a few other super heroes in the mix besides myself!
I even got to meet one of my Facebook friends, Super Dash, who came sporting a bowtie his mom made him from my DIY Bowtie tutorial!
There were dachshunds big and small – some twice my size, some half my size, but everyone came for one reason – to race for the title of Champion!
With over 40 Dachshunds competing I knew it was going to be pretty tough to beat them all. But after winning a few of the preliminary heats I was pretty confident I could make it to the top. And after showing off a few of my favorite tricks I was clearly the crowd favorite to win when I made it to the final race!
Just watch what happened yourself….
If you had trouble telling what happened – it’s because mom’s camera skills were not so stellar. She said it was difficult to film me and call my name/shake cookies at the same time. Excuses, excuses.
Regardless, I won 3 preliminary heats, beating out some really fast weenies – and earning myself a spot in the final against 2 other super fast dachshunds. The final race was run and I came in at a photo finish with a dachshund named Tucker – who had me beat in size by a lot! So the judges decided to re-run the race, just me and Tucker.
I like to think I won that final race, but since it was so close to call the judges said Tucker won by just a nose!
Even though I didn’t win the coveted Champion title, reserve champ still came with some pretty nice perks. I got to take home this hand-blown glass dog bone from the ArtsQuest Glass Blowing Studio and these yummy handmade cookies from Whisker Biscuits.
Not only that but I also brought home not one, but two dachshund cakes from the Vallos Bakery! (too bad mom says they are only for human consumption).
Even though I can’t say I’m the Dachshund Races Champion it still feels pretty great to be Reserve Champion. After all, I am still faster than a speeding bullet!
I thought it would be fun to create a little reader survey for all my fans. Just a little something to get to know you better, and to help me make my blog even better!
So if you have just a few minutes today, I’d really really love it if you could Take my Survey!
And since I’m asking you to share a little bit about yourself today, I thought it would be fun to answer a few questions about myself, just like I did last year, so you can get to know me a little bit better! Some questions are ones my fans posted on Facebook, and a few I threw in there for fun!
Q: Are you a standard or a mini dachshund?
A: I get this question a lot actually. I weigh in at about 17lbs, which is much too large to be a mini dachshund (typically they are under 10 lbs) but a little small for a standard (usually around 30lbs). So mostly I consider myself a tweenie, since I’m in between sizes! Below is a photo of me with my pal Liebe, who is a standard dachshund.
Q: Is there anything you are afraid of? (question from Rebecca F.)
A: I like to think I’m a pretty brave dog (after all I am a Super Hero) but if we’re being honest I do have a few small fears. I dislike the vacuum, I hate fire or even the smell of smoke, I’m not a fan of loud gunshot sounds, and I’m afraid of the vets office (not necessarily the vet or the people that work there, just the actual place – you know the place you get all your shots). Below is a shot of me at the vet last year when I got a little puncture wound playing on the farm.
Q: How did you learn to behave so well off-leash and at the farm? (question from Brenda D.)
A: That’s a good question! Truth be told I’m rarely ever allowed off leash, with the exception of the family farm. My backyard at home is completely fenced in and the few times I did manage to get out I did take a little neighborhood tour before mom and dad caught me. But at the farm I’m allowed to roam free, with nothing keeping me from wandering. This was a luxury that mom and dad allowed me to do when I was just a wee pup (but keeping a watchful eye at all times) and I just decided that there was plenty to occupy me (meaning lots of groundhog holes) on the 20 acres that the horse farm sits that I didn’t really feel the need to wander. Now just because I’m allowed off leash on the farm doesn’t mean that I always come when I’m called. I’ve got stubborn dachshund in my blood and if I’m on a scent or emerged in a hole I can’t be bothered to listen to mom’s calls. But that’s why I wear a glowdoggie collar at night, and hopefully soon I’ll be wearing a GPS tracker as well – so mom doesn’t have to wander all over the farm looking for me.
But for places like the dog friendly beach, where mom and dad decided to trust me enough to let me off leash, they make sure to keep a tube full of cookies nearby that they shake when they want me to come. Something about that noise makes me come running! I also practice my recalls regularly, but like I said I am a dachshund, and sometimes still have a mind of my own!
Q: What is the hardest trick you have ever learned? (question from Rebecca F.)
A: It seems as though the more tricks I learn the better I get at learning (so the faster I am able to master them). One of my hardest tricks though was learning how to hold objects in my mouth for pictures. You may have noticed that more recently I have been taking more photos with things in my mouth. While I’m still learning to hold them for extended lengths of time, this has probably been one of the most difficult tricks for me to master.
Q: How did you get so handsome? (question from Miles F.)
A: I like to think that I was sprinkled with fairy dust when I was just a pup. Or perhaps it’s because I always eat all my veggies!
So I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about me! And don’t forget to Take my Survey!
