Friday, November 4, 2011

Me is SUPERSTAR!!

Mummy said Jaffaman has a lot lot of energy. So me do this now wif a nice guy,


Me good good at it!!


(Mum: Now that Sunshade is almost 12, our walks are a lot slower. Jaffa needs more exercise than the slow walks we go on with Sunshade. At the same time, Sunshade can't keep up with Jaffa's speed. So on top of his regular walks, I've gotten Mike from Leader Of The Pack dog walking services to bike him three times a week for 1.5 hrs to 2 hours at a time.

I do not trust people easily with my dogs. I first met Mike about two years ago while I was walking Jaffa. Jaffa was acting like a big goof pulling me, spinning around, barking excitedly when he saw Mike rode by with 2 dogs along side his bike. Mike stopped, and came over. He handed me his business card, and told me - a good dog does not walk like that on leash. I can't remember what I said to him exactly, but I remember I was feeling a bit offended because I was naturally protective of my dogs. He told me then that he had two Airedales before, how much he loved them, and how wonderful he thought the breed was. I remember thinking yeah right, you just want my business! Needless to say, I threw the business card away.

A few months passed by and I saw him again near another park while I was walking Sunshade (only) with me. He again rode by with dogs along his side. Sunshade was off-leash, and I told her to "leave them" and she ignored the dogs. Mike saw it, and he again stopped his bike to come over to talk to me. This time, he said - I see you've done a lot of work with your dog. Good for you! With our last encounter still fresh in my mind, I thanked him but didn't bother to tell him that this was not the same dog as the one he met last time.

We continued to run into each other in various spots in the Westend over the next 18 months. Rain or shine, he would be out there biking the dogs, one group after another. I've watched him stop to let the dogs have a break, corrected dogs that were acting up, talked to people who were intrigued with what he was doing. He did finally see me with BOTH Sunshade and Jaffa, and the light bulb went on LOL!

Anyways, fast forward, couple weeks ago, I finally decided to let Jaffa have a tryout with Mike. I knew Jaffa was in good hands as I'd witnessed how well Mike is able to achieve calm energy amongst the pack, but I was still a little worried... (Sunshade: a little mum??? You AMBUSHED Mike on his route!!)

Ok, so maybe I have trust issues when it comes to Sunshade and Jaffa....!

Anyway, yes, since I knew Mike's route quite well from having ran into him numerous times, I decided to *ahem* wait for him on route. He had picked Jaffa up first, and I knew he was going to pick up other dogs before starting his route. So I sort of umm... waited for him? So I could take pictures! Yea that's it!

The point is, I was very happy with what I saw. Jaffa was doing GREAT, and obviously loving the bike run. Mike told me after the first week that Jaffa was becoming one of his "superstars" of all times because of his bubbly personality and athleticism. He said Jaffa was probably the best all around Airedale he's ever met. He liked Jaffa so much that he told me he would ride him for free because that was how much he enjoyed having him. Of course I couldn't take advantage of his kind heart so I do pay him, but at a much discounted rate per his insistence. He bikes dogs from 8am to 6pm, with a two hour lunch break in between.

Another reason I wanted to have Mike bike Jaffa was because Jaffa boy can become overly excited when he meets a dog while he's on leash. So I wanted him to be in close range with other dogs while remain controlled and calm. Biking as a pack, with a pack leader achieves that.

If you look at the picture below, Mike had stopped to talk to me, and Jaffa just stood around, not doing anything to the other dogs. Normally, he would be doing play bows, spinning, and basically just in your face if he were to meet dogs while on leash.


Jaffa is the only dog that wears a halter because he has a tendency to want to run faster than the bike! Mike said he was still high stepping even after a 2 hour bike ride, that's how great this boy's stamina is! Often times, Mike would bike Jaffa for more than the quoted time if he felt Jaffa still had a lot of energy after 2 hours.)


Watch Jaffaman the SUPERSTAR! (Mum: this video was taken after about an hour of biking already.)


When me get home, I said nite nite, Jaffaman rest here ok ok?


Sometimes, I wake up to go pee pee, see see, like this, (Sunshade: omg, you STINK up MY yard and you PEE on MY balls!!!!! That's Juice's pen btw.)


Then me go back to the same spot, and say nite nite mummy, nite nite Sunshade...

8 comments:

Molly the Airedale said...

You really look like you're having a great time, Jaffa! We're so glad that you have Mike to take you on fun adventures!

Love ya lots
Maggie and Mitch

ellen said...

Jaffa, I can only imagine having that much energy! Aren't you the lucky boy that your (not evil) mum thinks of ways to help you have exercise and fun!
xoxoxo,
ellen

Kari in Alaska said...

Oh wow you look like youre having fun!

Stop on by for a visit
Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com

brooke said...

That sounds like so much fun! Much better than just a walk with a dog walker! How cool!

Asta said...

Jaffaman
What a most fantastic idea!
You awe a soopew staw and gweat bikew
smoochie kisses
ASTA

Baby Rocket Dog and Hootie said...

These pics are soooo cool JaffaMan! You are lucky to have this Mike guy to run you. Our mama is a really slow walker, so we wish we had someone like Mike here.
Happy weekend!
Smooches from pooches,
BabyRD & HOotie

The Thuglets said...

Jaffa..you look like you are having soooooo much fun!

Happy Birthday. We hope you have a fabulous day.

Big Nose Pokes
The Thugletsx

My Dog Sam - Ruptured Disk said...

Hi Jaffaman, oh that's really cool. I have wheels and I like to go on long walks with my caretakers (Debbie and Cathie) during the day. So if you ever get bored with Mike, I'll have your mom tie you to my cart and wecan go on long walkies with my people.