Category: Dog

The Dog Days of Summer

6/10/2014

Greetings Friends!

Now that the Dog Days of Summer are upon us my schedule has slowed down a bit and I finally found the time to update my blog and to begin working on my greatest Masterpiece as a K9 Artist.

I crunched the number and calculated how much money I raised through my paintings and the grand total was $510.00. The following are some of the organization that benefited from my Art: SPCA Suncoast, CARES Rescue, Skyway Border Collie Rescue and Pibbles to the Rescue. Unfortunately June is off to a slow start... but I did manage to donate $70.00 worth of dog food for my friends at RaffleRescue.org by winning the Bil-Jac Breed of the Month Contest.

Mom and I are hosting a Tricks Workshop every third Sunday from June through September at Crews Lake Wilderness beginning at 6pm, if your interested be sure to meet us at the Earths Stage, park in the Pavilion 2 parking lot.
http://www.meetup.com/trickdogsofwestpasco/events/186555432/

Finally, I will be stopping by to visit Lisa of RaffleRescue.org during Yappy Hour at Gill Dawgs in Port Richey. Planning to drop off some more pet food and to see how the Raffle is going for my painting "Purple Haze" that will be auctioned off at Pasco Pet Fest in Land O Lakes on October 4th. Stop by Yappy Hour to purchase your raffle tickets or contact me on my Facebook page to purchase raffle tickets through the mail. https://www.facebook.com/BrodyTheBorderCollie

Don't forget you can pre-order my paintings and purchase other merchandise to benefit homeless animals here:
http://happytailpetsupply.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=brody+

Be sure to subscribe to my blog so you don't miss a thing!
Have safe and happy Summer -Brody

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March Happenings

3/7/2014

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With so many happenings in the month of March, I thought I would discuss a few of them in this months blog.

Lets begin with this weekend, don't forget to turn your clock an hour ahead tomorrow night before you go to bed cuz it's Daylight Savings Time or as I like to refer to it... Frisbee time, that's right it stays light out longer so when mom gets home from work there is still plenty of daylight for Frisbee practice after my walk... This makes me super happy!

I got a couple of events scheduled this month, I have been invited to paint on stage for the audience attending Mutt Madness at Highlander Park in Dunedin, Florida on April 15th at 2:15pm and mom will give a brief speech about me being a successful rescue story. During the event my painting will be auctioned off, the proceeds will benefit the Suncoast Animal League. Mom says we are going to stick around and enter the Dancing with Paws Contest, this would be the very first Canine Freestyle Contest we have entered so we been practicing quite a bit.

Also this month I will be performing my tricks and painting at Gill Dawg's Yappy Hour in Port Richey, Florida. This event is on March 30th from Noon to 3:00 pm. You can purchase a raffle ticket for $5.00 to win my painting "Purple Haze" money raised goes to http://rafflerescue.org/ a pet food assistance program benefiting senior citizens in the Pasco County Florida area. The winning raffle ticket will be drawn by me at the Pasco Pet Fest on October 4th for more info visit their website at http://www.pascopetfest.com/ Watch me paint this one of kind masterpiece at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cC4DBXhsVI&feature=youtu.be

The first day of Spring is March 20th and ice cream weather is right around the corner, so Chef Brody would like to share his favorite Strawberry Banana Ice Cream recipe.

You will need 2 Cups plain non-fat yogurt (all natural), 1 Tablespoon of honey,1 Banana and 1/2 cup fresh Strawberries.

Mix ingredients in a blender until creamy and pour into ice cube trays, freeze for about an hour before serving.

Also this month, I am having a contest on my Facebook page, you could win my Painting "After the Fair", you can enter the contest at this link: https://apps.facebook.com/my-contests/cqmqc enter daily to increase your chances of winning. The winner will be chosen on St. Patricks Day, March 17th.

Look for another blog from me next month and another pawsomely delicious recipe from Chef Brody... Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss it.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Wuff Brody xxx

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My apologies!

2/19/2014

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I just wanted to take a moment to apologize for not blogging in quite a while... I have been super busy performing my tricks skit, learning new tricks, teaching tricks class and painting for charity, I never expected my paintings would be in such high demand.

With that said I got a special announcement... I started this painting while I was performing at the Florida State Fair this month and finished it off from home and I am now going to give it away to one of my lucky Facebook friends. To enter for your chance to win go to this link: https://apps.facebook.com/my-contests/cqmqc like my Facebook page, leave your email (no worries, I am only going to email the winner to notify them they won) and share and then do it all over again the next day... Every time you enter and share you build points and the person with the highest points will win but you got to hurry the contest ends March 17th, 2014.

Be sure to take sometime to watch me paint this masterpiece that I have cleverly named "After the Fair" at this youtube link: http://youtu.be/Wpasxhy8Tqo

Look for a new blog later next month, I am going to share with you some simple behavior that you can easily build on.

Until then... Wuffs Brody xxx

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Doggie Picasso

9/30/2013

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Hello and welcome back to my blog!

Do you got what it takes to be the next Doggie Picasso!
In todays blog I am going to discuss the necessary tricks you will need to learn to start painting your own masterpiece for your human. This is a very complex chain of behaviors be prepared for this to take sometime to learn.

What you will need:
Paintbrushes (I use the Melissa & Doug Jumbo Paint Brushes which can be found on Amazon)
Containers (I use the Melissa & Doug Spill Proof Paint Cups also on Amazon)
Easel (I am using Little Tikes height adjustable easel... Humans keep your dogs height in mind when making this purchase)
Paper (I use construction paper, drawing paper, canvas paper etc... Mom draws so there is always some type of artsy paper for me to paint on)
Drop clothe (old sheet, beach towel... I'm using a fender cover BOL!)
Paint (Washable children's paint)

The first steps is to learn to "Take" & "Hold"
Start out with your paintbrush in a container without paint and take the handle with your mouth, your human should mark this with a clicker or marker word and follow up with a yummy treat. Once you have a solid "Take" your human should have you "Take" and then have you "hold" the brush by delaying the click or marker word by a few seconds after you "take" it and then they should mark it with a click or marker word and then give you several yummy treats. Humans once your dog is doing a "hold" you just keep adding seconds to it and start naming it "hold" and then mark it with your click or special word and then treat. Please note this can be a very long process, training sessions should be brief but often (3-5 minute sessions several times through out the day) Always end your training session on a good note so you will both want to come back and learn more later!

Once you have "Take" and "Hold" you are ready to touch the brush to the paper. Please note at this stage I do not recommend adding paint and you wont need the easel just yet. We call this part of the trick "Brush". Let's get started... "Take" and "Hold" your brush and have your human take a piece of paper and touch your brush with it, humans make sure you click or mark with your special word and give a yummy treat, practice this several times a day for 3-5 minutes for about a week and as you touch the brush with the paper say "Brush". Week 2 you now must touch the paper with the brush, so humans hold the paper about an inch or two away from the brush while it's in your dogs mouth and say "Brush" be sure to reward any movement with the brush towards the paper at first, once you have movement you can change your criteria to strictly touching the paper with the brush, work on this several times a day for 3-5 minutes. Week 3 continue to add distance between the brush and the paper. Week 4 you are ready to add the easel, place the paper on the easel at your dogs mouth height, the easel is new to the process so reward any movement with the brush toward the paper on the easel and then slowly reward for only interactions with the brush to the paper on the easel.

Now that you are comfortable with the holding the brush and touching the paper on the easel we can work on paint strokes. I like to sit while I paint so most of my brush strokes go up and down and vice versa, sometimes I will have a side stroke if mom pulls out a treat and I get up to go get it. When I paint the brush is sticking out the side of my mouth so I don't look at the paper I look at mom and watch which way she points and that is how I move my head to make my strokes. To learn to follow your humans finger they just need to hold a treat in their fingertips and have you watch the treat and reward you with it for following, once you are reliably following they no longer need to hold the treat and you should be able to follow their fingers and they should reward you with a treat after you paint a stoke.

Couple of things to keep in mind, what do you want to do with the brush in your mouth after your paint stroke, you can put it back in the container or you can drop it on the drop cloth... I drop mine in a snack tray or a drop clothe because mom likes to have my next brush and color ready to go. It's entirely up to you and your human. If you want it to place your brush back in the container tell your human not to reward you after your paint stroke and to wait until you place it back in the container. Because I drop my brush and grab the next one mom usually rewards me with a jack pot after several strokes, but that's only because I been painting for a couple of years.

You are now ready to add paint... Don't forget to pawtograph your work!

I sure hope you enjoyed this weeks blog... Be sure to subscribe to the right of your screen to get it delivered to your inbox.

Happy Painting!

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The Dog Days of Summer

March Happenings

My apologies!

Doggie Picasso

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