It has been really pouring in the last few days – look our garden is almost flooded!
My human is very worried because we have to perform again this weekend, with the rest of my Canine Freestyle dog dancing team, at a big doggie event called “Wag ‘n’ Walk” – where there will be LOADS of people coming to watch us…
| 8:45am | Pet n Vet Milford demonstration on stage |
| 8:50am | Bissell demonstration on stage |
| 8:55am | SeaFlex and WeatherBeeta demonstration on stage |
| 9:00am | Star Dogs act at Dog pen area |
| 9:30am | NZ Customs Service act at dog pen area |
| 10:00am | Tallest/ shortest dog competition on stage |
| 10:15am | Oldest/ youngest dog competition on stage |
| 12:00pm | Flygility act at dog pen |
| 12:30pm | Paws to Music act at dog pen |
| 12:50pm | Dog Guru demonstration on stage |
| 1:00pm | Prize giving begins: Best dog trick SPCA presentation Harcourt’s auction Competition winners Spot prizes |
| 1:45pm | Star Dogs |
…and after my terrible slippery dancing disaster last weekend, she is very nervous about how I’m going to do if the ground is very wet and boggy or if it’s going to be raining when we’re performing (the forecast says showers…)
Hsin-Yi says now she knows why Great Danes are not sheepdogs or any other kind of working doggie – coz you can’t have a sheepdog that says to the shepherd “Eeeuw, it’s raining – I don’t like to get wet – I’m not going to round up the sheep today…”!! 
Oh dear…now I’m feeling nervous too! I really hope I don’t mess up my dance routine again tomorrow! Paws crossed!! 
Anyway, since we’re on the subject of rain, I thought I might as well tell you about some “rainy day games” that my human has made up for me to play, when the weather’s very bad and we can’t go for a walk or when she is busy and I have to keep myself occupied…(not that I can’t do that easily by just sleeping but you know humans, they always worry about “stimulating our minds” and “helping us develop problem-solving skills” and that sort of thing…really! Sleeping develops lots of skills too!)
There are special interactive dog toys designed by Nina Ottosson Dog Puzzles & Games to help us doggies not get bored and grow bigger brains (if you’re in the UK, you can get them here) but they don’t sell them in NZ and it costs a lot of money paper to ship them from overseas so my humans have not got any for me yet.
Instead, Hsin-Yi has made up some “home-made” games for me to try:
Rainy Day Games # 1 – ‘Cookie in the Cup’
Rainy Day Games # 2 – ‘Tennis Ball Lottery’
(this one you just need a cupcake tray and lots of tennis balls – oh, and yummy treats, of course!)
As you can see, I am not very advanced yet. Hsin-Yi says that’s because my brain is only the size of a pea and there is a lot of empty space between my ears…but maybe if I keep playing these games, my brain will grow bigger! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed them – maybe you’d like to try them too sometime and tell us on your blog how you did!
Wish me luck for tomorrow!!
well done Honey! we play flower pots too! (1st game)
i think you will be fine during your dance !!!
Good luck. It looks like a very busy day.
Tell your Hsin-Yi to go easy on the intellectuals stimulations. You don’t want to use up all your thoughts before the big event.
Slobbers,
Mango
Awesome! definitely going to give it a go with the girls… Im thinking more mental stimulation may lead to less bored chewing
oh and I forgot… pssst good luck you pair, you will be fine…x
Hi Hsin-Yi & Honey,
Looks like you have the same weather as we do right now…only it’s much colder here! Let’s hope for a clear sky for you tomorrow and sunshine for your demonstration…I’m sure you will do great Honey!
I love the tennis ball in the muffin pan game…have to try that one some day.
Have fun tomorrow!
AARF Kasha the Dane & Denise
Oh Brilliant game with the muffin tin! We played the cup game and a few others when Moose was recovering from knee surgery and was stuck in a pen for two months! We really wanted one of those Nina Ottosen games because they look awesome but they were kind of expensive (given that we had just spent $4000 on a new knee! and I was not sure what he would do with it. I knew he would get the treats out but thought he would try to just pick up the whole thing and drop it over and over (i.e. brute force) and that would not be what we were after. I am going to try this TODAY and will post about it. If it is a disaster it will have only cost me a few tennis balls so it is totally worth it!
As for the rainy day dancing, oh dear! I hope they at least have a tent up to keep the ground from getting boggy but bet that would be easier on your paws than the slippery floor. I bet the rainy weather will be pretty distracting for you in general though. You are a pro and know you will provide entertainment. Hope the weatherman is wrong though and it turns out to be a lovely sunny day… you never know!
Good luck at your wag & walk performance. You’ll do just fine.
I think those games look like fun, but growing a brain seems like an awful lot of work. Maybe the humans should just give us the treats. Yep, that sounds like a good idea!!
Jackal
Good luck tomorrow, Honey, we just know you will do well. Everyone will love you. Don’t get nervous, you are so good at what you do with Hsin-Yi. Mom says those games look like a lot of fun and since TD loves tennis balls and loves treats even more, that one might be where we start.
Happy weekend and do a great job.
Woos, the OP Pack
Hey there, Honey
All the best for your routine tomorrow!!! If all else fails, then show them your swimming style! We’ll be thinking of you. I’m sure you will emerge the super-star that you are!
Lots of licks
MAXDOG IN SOUTH AFRICA
Lots of luck Honey! You’ll do great!
Hugs and Tail Wags,
Dixie
Hey Honey, Dad asked “When does Honey get her PhD`
It must be tough to be that smart.
Bolo
Good luck tomorrow! I hope it stops raining for you.
Honey!
I really hope your dance routine goes well, we will be thinking of you! I hope the rain stops soon!
Wow, those are some GRRRReat rainy day games! I’ve never played those before, but now I really want to. We don’t have enough tennis balls for that one game though (my human claims I’ve been losing them in the backyard forest, but nooooo, she just doesn’t bother to look for them when I need them!), so we will try that cup game today because it’s pouring rain outside.
I hope you have a grrrrEAT weekend!
Sparky
I need those games NOW!
It has been raining since yesterday – of khourse, I’m out sulking (and soaking it up) but Mom says no walk -
Do woo have any idea how spongy my khoat khan be
Good lukhk with your weekend’s events!
Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra
Hi Honey,
Good grief – that’s a lot of rain! Still, it keeps all those pretty flowers in your garden growing nicely we suppose.
We’ve got some great doggie intelligent games that our humans got us when we wer very small puppies. We enjoy playing with them and have been meaning to post about them for ages but somehow have still not got round to it. We really must, as they’re great fun.
You’ll be great at the competition – try not to worry too much.
Big schnauzer snuggles – JD and Max.
Oh Honey,
My Momma gave me some food puzzle toys and I love them! I have a roller ball thing, a buster cube, a tug a jug. Momma puts kibbles in them and I get the foods out. Yumm!
Also, Good luck with your dancing competition you’ll do great!
woof – Tucker
Hey Honey! We just posted about Moose playing with the muffin tin game. Seemed pretty easy for him but he had a blast! Thanks for sharing the idea!
I covered my momster’s eye when she tried watching the videos… cause she’ll think I have the brain the size of um… what’s smaller than a pea? We tried that cup thing once and I just didn’t get it. I mean, why would anybody hide a delicious piece of chicken in a cup instead of eating it?! Oh well… Honey, I’m glad that you’re super smart and getting smarter… I’m going to go take a nap and hope that the sleeping keeps my brain from shrinking more!
Oh Honey, I loved your rainy day activities! Thanks for sharing those simple, but creative ideas. I’ve seen the other games for sale, but they are very expensive!
We will definitely try these. The weather is starting to turn to winter here…snow tomorrow. So, we will be looking for indoor stuff to keep Oreo busy.
Good luck on your dance routine tomorrow!
Let the sheepy dogs have the rainy days. We big dogs are smarter and know enough to stay out of the rain. It was snowing and raining yesterday and this morning, and we only went out when it was absolutely necessary.
Slobbery wishes for a good day tomorrow from Thor.
Gosh, that’s a lot of rain! I don’t blame you for not wanting to go out in it, Honey!
Cool games – I have played the muffin tin one before but I get the tennis balls out with my feet!
Good luck on the dance routine – I’m sure you’ll do great!
What cool vids! And great ideas. I like that line of drool you had going in that first one. Ha woo.
Luv,
DAve
Good luck at your event! Im sure you’ll do fine, no slippery wood floors to deal with!
It’s raining here like its raining there, so it’s nice that we have a covered garage for the building, and a puppy friend upstairs that Darwin can run around with. Just like Honey, she hates the rain. She’ll go out to potty in it, but as soon as we’re inside, shes rubbing her face on the carpet trying to dry off. Drama queen.
Love the ideas for brain stimulating games. Must try that cupcake pan one… once we get more tennis balls (Darwin’s not much of a fetcher, so we have no use for that many balls).
Honey!
Good luck tomorrow! You ´ll do great! Hope you get better weather!
I like those games! I´ll try it someday!
xoxo
Thor
Good luck!
Sorry for our late comment! Of course we wished you good luck. How was your demo at Wag ‘n’ Walk? We were worried about you since it was pouring on this side of the bridge when you were supposed to be doing the demo. We hope it was not that bad on the North Shore.
The rainy day dog games you have shown us look like fun! We will ask our humans to do something like them with us!
I know that you will be a star as always in your games. Those brain expander games look fun! I’ll have see if we have anything like them here in the US.
Hsin-Yi, I would really appreciate if you could take a look at this, its a long post, not spam por anything like that. Its a way for me to say thank you.
http://adanestale.blogspot.com/
I hope you ended up with a rain free event and an a perfect routine!
We hope everything went well and you had a rain free day.
Those indoor games look very cool.
Holly & Zac.
Look like tons of fun – you are a much better sport – mommy tried the cupcake tennis ball one with sweetie 3 times she just picked up the tray and dumped it out!!
Woodrow – Sweetie – MJ
Love your growing brains games!
Hey those games you wuz playing look like a lot of fun! Mummy sez wen she gits sum time off her werk then she will try them out. I thinks that is a good idea cause I will git sum treets!!
Yer pal Dozer
Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
My Missus also thinks that my brain is the size of a pea!
Love,
Homer
Came over from Moose’s Blog to find out more about the games you keep your Honey stimulated wth. We are looking for ideas to stimulate our corgi puppies’ brains with, and you’ve got some pretty interesting ideas! Thanks for sharing them with us.
Oh, and I’ve loved seeing some of the dancing you two do, too!!! OC from Corgi Country
Hey you guys. You do great with the 3 cups. My human startet that with me, but sometimes I don’t get it. Then he has to help me. but hey, I like being helped sometimes. How did your dance go? We have one coming up – a Fun Tournament in Wiesbaden, Germany wherever that is. Doing some tricks to “The Magic Flute – ohhh Really?”. I get to do some of favs: bring a bird to my human and put it in its cage, then go get the treat box so he can give me my treat for the bird, then get another bird that he was supposed to but dropped, then I get to “drink a treat from a wine glass. And much more. I love the end, when I get to twirl around and around in circles.
Man, I tell ya, isn’t Dog Dancing fun? And I think my human lieks it too, because he always has his mouth-weapons showing, which I worked out means with humans, that they’re happy. Sometimes they are soooo weird, right?
OK honey, Daddy and I just finished a session with my dinner and mommy’s coming home in awhile. I’m gonna try to take a nap before she gets her.
Bye and keep coooool gal!
Vela in Switzerland
(daddy is watching TV, otherwise he’d say hi too!)