new movies!

[keegan]

New Movies just uploaded...

http://www.zaps21.com/buzz.htm

keegan

[Barney's Mom]

This is great!!!! My daughter JUST said to me the other day, "Are there new pictures of Buzz Lightyear?" We were wondering if you guys were still around and how Buzz was doing! We have now officially stayed up a half hour past my daughter's bedtime watching ALL the videos and the entire BUZZ slide show! As always, the photos are AWESOME! The videos are awesome too. You must have as nice a video camera as you do a snapshot camera!

Buzz is getting so big, and his coloring is beautiful! He looks like a Toto dog! He seems to have an excellent temperment! I saw a lot of un chewed shoes and rugs around your home, which is a GOOD THING!!! We have no rugs where Barney is allowed to go, which consists of the kitchen, his crate and my lap!

We are so glad to see how Buzz has grown! Thank you for getting back on the forum and updating us on little Buzz! He is adorable!!!

[keegan]

Glad you enjoy them! We certainly do. I'm starting to think we got very very lucky with his temperment. He came to us via an airplane from Missouri, so we never even met him until I picked him up at the airport. I had airdales and a jack russell growing up, and by comparison his temperment is just amazing. Originally we thought it was just that he was a cairn, but maybe it's more?

All he wants is to be with you and do whatever you are doing. He'll sit or lie down right next to you wherever you are in the house, and as long as something more exciting is not going on, he just hangs out. When he wants to play he grabs a toy and brings it over to you, tail wagging. We were extremely watchful parents during this first year of his life, and didnt let him get any bad habits. He was mostly in his crate unless we were watching him.

He seems to know exactly what is his to chew and what is not--he only plays with and chews his own toys! (granted, we are usually right there to tell him what not to chew) When he was younger he tried shoes, but we didn't let him, and sometimes he takes a frustrated bite at the couch when his ball goes under it (actually, he seems to PUT it there simply for the joy of trying to dig it out). He loves to play rough too, which I love. I can really throw him around (figuratively), and he loves it.

He certainly needs intellectual stimulation and excersize. When he is bored or hasnt been run around in a day or so he gets crazy. He'll zooom around the house, wanting very badly to be played with. This is usually in the late afternoon (he sleeps all morning religiously). He loves his soccer ball, and we take him to the local park or a basketball court down the street and just let him go! He could play with that soccer ball for hours and hours and hours. Never seems to get tired! It was love at first sight with the soccer ball, as you can see from the video of the first time he ever saw one, "soccer ball, 7.7.06." It was funny, we were in Maine for a friends wedding, and he just started going at it! Everyone thought we had taught him... nope!

Now I can leave him out in the kitchen while I go to work, and he just sleeps, looks out the window, etc. If we left food on the table and the chair accessible, he would find a way to get up to the table and poke around, but we make sure not to give him any temptations. We do leave him a chair to hop up onto so he can look out the window and watch people walk by, etc. We live in Somerville, a pretty urban suburb of Boston.

We take him everywhere, and as the spring has been slowly coming, I've starting going running in the woods with him at a local reservation (actually the same place where I proposed to my fiancee last year while on a walk with Buzz!). I never thought it would be possible from my past experiences with terriers, but i started letting him off the leash while we run! He is great! He just is SO happy to be outside, he loves romping in the woods. He sticks right with me, sometimes scouting out ahead and then looking back and waiting for me to tell him which direction when he gets to a fork in the trail, sometimes lagging behind sniffing something, only to launch into a dead sprint to catch up. He is just a joy. If he sees another dog, he'll go and say hi and begin serious play, but we've been so good with "come," NEVER using it unless we have the greatest treat in the world, or we're in a position to make sure he has to obey, so now every time we use it (very rarely), he comes BOLTING to us--even if he is playing with another dog! Again, I never thought it possible.

Part of our success I have to attribute to our puppy class dog trainer (www.bostonzendog.com). The things he taught us are invaluable. For instance, about "come": he said you should never, ever use it when training unless you physically can make the dog do it. So, first start on a long lead, then do it in the house with two people in different places, then graduate to other settings. And, when we taught him we always used the absolutely best treats--meat scraps from dinner or cheese or something absolutely awesome. And when we did come, we would treat him and congratulate him for a full 30 seconds. It paid off! When I do take him in the woods I always carry treats so if I do have to use it, I can really reward him.

Just one other short story. The times we saw the most growth in terms of socialization and confidence was about the third week we had him. Both my fiancee and I play ultimate frisbee (a lot more serious and organized that you think! like a cross between football and soccer, but played with a frisbee--see some photos here: http://zaps21.com/photo/bestof/bestofultimate/index.htm ) We took him along to a tournament where there are a couple thousand people and some other dogs, and all kinds of excitement and attention. He met hundreds of people, was held by many of them, met lots of other dogs, and was around all kinds of loud noises on the sidelines. It was amazing the change we saw in his confidence from friday before the weekend to monday after it. I think it was one of the best experiences of his puppyhood. I just uploaded some more photos from the event (close to the very bottom of the gallery--noteably the shot where he is sleeping in a frisbee):

http://www.pbase.com/zaps21/buzz

In terms of cameras, I am pursuing a career in film and photography, so I have a professional level still camera and I just upgraded my video camera to an HD resolution one--really amazing picture quality! If you are interested, look at the clip called "pigeon01.mov" to see the camera in it's full glory: http://zaps21.com/HV20/HD_clips/

My fiancee and I are getting married in August, and moving from Boston to Los Angeles for me to go to film school for a year. If we don't stay in L.A., we have our sites set on Portland Oregon or San Fran.

Glad people enjoy the photos and movies, I'll keep them coming!

keegan

[bradl]

Trainers sometimes call extra-special treats Jackpots. It sounds like you, your fianc

[Tracy A.]

Keegan- Buzz is growing up into a handsome dog. Whom ever is grooming his is doing a wonderful job!

[Sarah]

Your videos are great! I've not seen any of them, so I had to start at the beginning. The puppy videos are making me want another so badly. Adorable!

The personality you described is exactly the personality that Henry has. It was like a reading a description of him. I'm glad, too, because my husband is convinced that we lucked out and will never be able to have another dog that is as easy as Henry. Now I have proof that it's possible!

[keegan]

In terms of grooming--we got one of those Mars Coat Kings, and while it does cut a lot of the hairs and not really pull them out, it does a pretty good job. SUPER easy. Ten minutes of brushing is good for 2-3 months!

keegan

[Barney's Mom]

I am so happy for you and your film school pursuits! You definitely have the eye and the talent, no question!! The video of Buzz on a walk was so incredibly cute! I wanted to set it to music! How did you keep the camera so still and level as you walked?

Thank you too for the full update on Buzz. I must confess I get extremely jealous of people who have dogs with Buzz's temerment. Barney has been a royal challenge from day one. He is a very bad resource guarder and has sank his teeth into all of us at least once. But I just figure, maybe we were meant to be his family, because anyone with any sense would not have put up with him this long and sent him packing!! I know he is still young and has a lot of maturing to do, but I just wish he would mellow out a bit!

My husband would put in a vote for locating to Portland! He was born there and has this strange love affair with Mount Hood! I never lived there so I can't quite understand his obsession! But we visited there two years ago and I must say, it is a beautiful state. Very environmentally friendly and "green". He would love to live in Corvallis or Sandy. I personally am a beach and ocean lover, so the southern coastal states are where I would love to live. Ashville NC is my dream. Some day......

You and your fiance seem like such a nice couple, and Buzz is just the icing on the cake! I feel like we know you just from seeing all the photos and videos! So cool...

Keep the videos/photos coming!

Blessings,

Mary

Barney's Mom

[jodi0553]

Keegan,

I sadly couldn't view your videos. I know I've viewed *.mov files on this computer before. It appears that somehow, likely during one of window's evil automatic updates, they replaced my "quicktime" with "quicktime alternative" because I certainly don't know what THAT is! Any suggestions for viewing? I get sound but no pictures. I have a mac at work, and I'm sure it'll gladly let me see the videos!

I think its so cool that Buzz is a cairn that can be a frisbee dog. In Chicago, I had some friends who brought a mini schnauser to games, and it was always so funny with the labs and goldens who were free to wander the area and the little dog who had to be always tethered. I haven't played much recently (ironically since moving to Portland, which DOES have a great ultimate scene, albeit tiny compared to my former home of Chicago) but when Currey sees people running, he really really really wants to give chase! He'd also steal the disc if given the chance - he's even tried to walk around dragging a full sized disc in his mouth, which is funny! I've thought of taking him to a pick-up game, but I worry that he'll just bark his head off everytime anyone sprints by!

Mary - you still get beaches in Portland. The coast is just as close to Portland as Mt. Hood! Although going to the "coast" isn't exactly going to the "beach" in NC or the "shore" if you're further north! No swimming (brrr....), but long walks with doggies certainly are a perk!

Keegan - good luck with the cross-country move. I'm about to embark on much the same, but the opposite direction. I sure will miss Portland!

Doggy on Cannon Beach, OR

[keegan]

To answer two questions:

1. To get the camera so still on the "take a walk" video, I had it on a make-shift mini steady cam. The camera was flipped upside down on the bottom of a rod with weights on top. Works pretty well. http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/

2. If you can't view the videos, you probably need to download and install the latest version of Quicktime (it's free). You can do that here: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download

Keegan