Momma says it's important to share information with others when you learn it so that they don't get hurt or have the same problems.  So I'm sharing -- and hoping momma sees what a good dog I am and forgets that I used her night guard as a chew toy -- but that's another story.....sigh...

Where was I?   Oh yeah...

I have to tell all of you dogs to always be on the look out and make sure you keep up your running skills.  I know some of you don't get to go for long walks or to the dog park all the time, but you can still work out at home.  You can do laps around the coffee table and through the spare room...this will keep you trim and agile.  Me and Digger do this all the time at his house.   For added difficulty, when your people are not around, you can jump up and ricochet (my aunty cinnamon and aunty begonia will remember that word) off the back of the couch....please, though, only do this when your people are not around!  If you live in a house, you can run up and down the stairs.....does wonderful things for your endurance, strength and figure.

Seriously dogs, please make sure you try to keep fit.  It's for your own safety.  

I get to travel a fair bit to different dog parks and cities with my mom for Fetch and Pounce and I have learned a lot.  One of my big lessons came the other week.  We were visiting some customers who wanted to do a fitting.  I went to meet Jimmy Jones and Pencil....had a treat or two and good chew of a bone.  They got great matching Rain Jackets.  Then we were off to meet Charlie.  His mom suggested we meet her near Yonge and Eglinton (that is in Toronto).

This is where things get a bit blurry.  We arrived at the park and there were a number of humans running around playing and there was Charlie on the hill with his mom playing catch.  Momma said she was debating taking off my Puffy Jacket as it was getting warmer.  She decided to leave it on  and Woof! let me tell you I am glad she did - It saved my life!

Out of the blue this big Golden Retriever came running at me.  Normally they are great dogs to play with but this one had a bad attitude.  She wanted to eat me -- she saw me and I think seriously saw a piece of doggy sushi!  First thought was RUN!! Now, she was off leash and had a head start on me, so unfortunately, I didn't get away.  If not for my Puffy Jacket and the nice man at the park...this story would have been much more sad.

Fortunately, she bit through my dog jacket but only grazed me.  I had a small owee and my jacket had battle scars and teeth marks on both the black and red sides (It's reversible you see).  The other man came running too and made the bad dog lie on her side because she was being bad.  Momma quickly scooped me up and made sure I was ok.

So this is my warning to all dogs....when you get outside, don't get distracted by a ball until you fully check out your surroundings.  Also, to all humans, if you know your dog doesn't like to play with other dogs and has been mean to them before, please do not let them run free....next time a dog...or a little human could get hurt....I am a quick runner and I got hurt a bit....little humans can't run as fast as we often can.

So dogs, keep fit....you never know when you will need to run fast to save yourself......or to chase a squirrel.....still working on my tree climbing skills.......gotta find a cat to teach me....

Woof!

I'm off.

Boss