Good Bloggie!

The BIG dog show for the Central Texas area is this week: The River City Cluster of Dog Shows. Five straight days of dog shows, and this year, even more fun for the spectators. Check out the schedule of events, guests, and the link to the official site below. And look for the link to a $2 off admission coupon at the bottom of the page.

Official site link: River City Cluster of Dog Shows

Want to know when your favorite breed will be showing? (humm, could it be FRENCHIES??!) Click here to download a PDF schedule of ring times.

Schedule of Events for 2008 River City Cluster of Dog Shows

June 16 - July 7 Pet and Owner Look Alike Contest

The River City Cluster of Dog Shows is hosting a Pet and Owner Look Alike Contest in conjunction with MySA.com. Contest Rules and Prizes are described online by clicking on “SAPaws.com” (on MySA.com’s home page).

Wednesday - Sunday, July 9 to 13 River City Cluster of Dog Shows
The San Antonio Convention Center will host Five Days of All-Breed Conformation Shows and Four Days of Agility Trials.
• AKC Conformation Judging and Vendor Areas - Doors open daily at 8:00 AM,
• Agility Trials are from 1 to 5 PM on July 10th and from 8 AM to 5 PM on July 11-13th.

Wednesday and Thursday, July 9 & 10 Half Off Price of Admission Day
A very special promotion !! – “Bring a can of Pedigree Dog Food and Get HALF Off the Price of Admission”. All dog food collected will be donated to the City of San Antonio Animal Care Services (ACS) who will give a can of dog food with each of their canine adoptions.

Wednesday, July 9 Jesse James Leija
• as the guest celebrity will present the donated cans of Pedigree Dog Food to City of San Antonio Animal Care Services (ACS)
AND
• On behalf of the Comal County Kennel Club he will present a 37” Color TV to the Best In Show Winner.

Wednesday & Thursday, July 9 & 10 Senior Citizen Days
The River City Cluster of Dog Shows will be sponsoring Senior Day. Several San Antonio Senior Living Communities have been invited to attend the events.

Thursday, July 10 Heloise
• will be the guest celebrity
AND
• On behalf of Austin Kennel Club she will present a planter to the Best In Show Winner.

Friday, July 11 Eva’s Heroes
The River City Cluster of Dog Shows has invited Eva’s Heroes to attend the shows. Eva’s Heroes is a charity sponsored by Eva Longoria for developmentally disabled kids and young adults. They will tour Agility, Conformation, Dog Grooming, and Vendor areas.

Friday, July 11 Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed
• will be the guest celebrity
AND
• On behalf of Bexar County Kennel Club will present a Fitz & Floyd Salad Bowl and Cruet Set to the Best In Show Winner.

Saturday, July 12 PIX Event — FREE Photos
MySA.com will host a PIX event at the dog show and take FREE photos of the contestants and visitors to post online for them to retrieve the next business day. Visitors will have the option of downloading, emailing, or saving their photos from the PIX retrieval page for FREE.

Click on link below for a downloadable $2 off admission coupon.

2008-rccds-coupon-on-word

Wishing everyone a great and safe Fourth.

Below is a picture of four-week-old Vivian and her two brothers, Argon and Monty, taken two years ago. Funny to think she once fit in the palm of our hand.

Last year, discovered a French Bulldog character created by Yuko Shimizuc, the designer/creator of the Hello Kitty line. The character is called Rebecca Bonbon. Interestingly, she shares the same November 11 birth date with the Hello Kitty character.

Couldn’t find anyone who carried products in the US and recently revisited the topic. Here’s the news: representation of the Rebecca Bonbon line has been acquired by FremantleMedia, who is looking for licensing and franchising opportunities in the US, Europe, Canada, Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand.

More story available at Global License!

Right now, products with Rebecca Bonbon imagery is only available in Japan. Looks like two new additions have been added to the line since last year: Baby Rebecca Bonbon and Men’s Rebecca Bonbon. Perhaps once someone strikes a deal we’ll be seeing Rebecca in US stores?

What the heck is IKEA hacking? It’s taking an IKEA product and repurposing it to a new use. So little did we realize that when we repurposed some IKEA products for our crew, we were part of a whole new movement. (At one time, this might have gone by the word “ingenuity,” but everything seems to need a logo attached these days.)

Below is our IKEA hack. We took some pop-up storage containers, cut out the bottoms, and made mini-sized agility tunnels. Using the already existing tabs, they can be strung together to form a longer tunnel. All this for less than $5!

While this does not guarantee an agility Frenchie, it’s a hoot to watch, great fun for them, and another way to expand experience and exposure to new situations.

But we’ve yet to find a toy, at any price, that can match the sheer joy of the empty paper towel roll. A single thump still has the power to wake up, and bring zooming across the house, all Frenchies, young and old.

With all the creative reuse of IKEA products, you have to wonder: have these products become the grown-up version of LEGOs?

Here’s links to IKEA hacking blogs:
IKEA Hacker
www.instructables.com

And here’s some with dog-related hacks:
bee’s nest Blog
Jarrett House North
IKEA Hacker - Pet Furniture

An interesting postcard was in the Denton show catalog. It’s advertising a Summer Day Camp for kids and their dogs. What a great idea.

Sniffcerely stated by Millie, the child and dog will experience “A week full of FUN!!” as top professionals coach them how to do things such as: basic obedience (assuming for the dog!), agility, Canine Freestyle, and even preparing to compete in events.

If you live in the Denton/Dallas/Forth Worth area, this would be worth looking into. Or perhaps there is a facility in your home town offering similar Day Camps?

The number to sign up is (940) 765-8980 and here’s the link to the place offering the Day Camp:
Bed Biscuit and Beyond

And found this link offering more info about the Day Camp and what to expect:
Bark Here!

If you’d rather attend a one-day event, the AKC offers one-day Education Matches, which are organized through local clubs and are for for adults and kids.

Check here to see if one is scheduled near you. Or contact your local kennel club and see if they have one cooking or express your interest in attending one.
AKC Education Matches