Another cute and useful dog trick to learn.

I hate shopping a lot. I hate malls, I hate selecting items, I hate trying things on. I would like a stylist to show up at my house with a boatload of clothes, and just throw ones at me that will fit and look real nice, and send me a bill. In lieu of that, there is ebay and there is the internet and there is using your dogs to do useful things for you. Let's take shoe ordering as a great trick you can teach your dogs to do for you.


Product Placement Zappos.com, an online shoe store that should sponsor Team Small Dog sells Navy Blue Slip On Vans, is so easy that even a dog can order you shoes and get them sent to you the very next day. It helps if you know your size and all that, and since I've worn this exact shoe since like age 13 which would be for 29 a few years or so, it is really easy to just type in Navy Blue Slip On Vans and here they come to your house. Or Red Goretex Trail Running shoes, or whatever kind of shoe it is you need. The thing you might like about Navy Blue Slip On Vans is they go with everything. Navy is a neutral, goes with jeans, skorts, shorts, dresses, whatever you want. Brown, black, camo, they all look good with Navy shoes. But make sure if you are wearing Vans with a dress you live in a surfish town like Santa Cruz or Hermosa Beach and there are no holes in them and not too fadey. And the bottoms are more for skateboarding than for dog agility so just be careful if you are doing a lot of running that day. Have your Red Goretex ones close by.


So I never really taught the dogs how to use the internet, but the other day, I sprouted a hole in the toe of the most recent pair of Product Placement Navy Blue Slip On Vans. So Gustavo, he can be hard to teach things like regular dog stuff, but he likes to sit at the desk, so I tried to see if he could figure out the super easy Product Placement Zappos.com website. Such clear usability! Easy to navigate, clean, simple design. No frills, lots of ways to search. Great product reviews, selection and product photography. Like here's a tagline for you Zappos.com, my new friend that I hope you are reading this and thinking let's give her a bunch of Men's Size 7.5 Slip on Vans in EVERY COLOR and THE ONES WITH THE FLOWERS AND SKULLS - So Easy Even Gustavo Can Use It!


In the end, he needed a little help. That's why we have Otterpop. Also she was the one that knows how to use the credit card. Maybe we never get him actually ordering off the internet but we'll try just checking email or bezier curves or something even easier next time I decide to teach him a new trick. Or we go back to that High Five that he's still trying to figure out. And actually start his Turn-Tunnel. Otterpop, please keep track of any purchases you guys make on that card, is all I ask of you.

Footwear for Dog Agility-A primer.

Yesterday was another rainy day.

I made the dogs dress up in costumes at work. Hey, come on. It's tiny little horse blankets. It's a barn. It's cold and wet. They shiver. Ruby is feeling how I was feeling most of the day. I went home early.

It could have been a worse day. I could have had wet feet. But I was wearing my sporty new shoes!

I picked them out myself. Without Tim Gunn. Uh oh.


They are this really special shade of red, I believe Lipstick Red. Avon LIpstick Red. Not Nars. Or even Mac.

Quit yer giggling. I hear that. Even over here.

And I handwalked horses in the rain all day in them and my feet were dry and they were way more comfortable than boots. What is handwalking? When it's too wet and muddy to ride, you attach a horse to a rope and probably a chain and you walk around. Oh, so pleasant you are saying? Is like strolling with the dogs? Well, let's say you have 16 of them. Average weight is about 1000lbs. Their legs are attached to big, heavy hooves with metal shoes that are powered by actual horsepower. Some of them are friendly and some of them are very, very tired of standing around in a stall because you won't let them go out and play in the mud. And they are very, very afraid of things such as a truck! A piece of grass that blows! A tiny bird! And luckily no horses came stomping down on my new goretex shoes, which is a super way to break a toe into a million tiny pieces or even worse, rip a brand new expensive shoe. They have super tready soles for agility in wet grass and they were from England! Hi everyone in England-do you have these shoes and NO ONE LAUGHS AT THEM THERE?


I almost got these ones. The ones with slightly higher heel are Balenciaga's. My new ones are Innov-8. The Balenciaga's didn't come in Goretex.

And I just got a trial confirmation from the CPE trial this weekend that I didn't even know I entered but I did somehow via magic and I'm going. And it says be prepared for bad, bad, bad weather of wind and rain. Oh boy! It's in a covered ring but still let's just say that again. Oh boy!

But who's going to have the dryest, most Eurpopean feet in the dirty, damp, blowing covered arena out there in that cow field on Sunday?