Vader's Halftime Show With the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship

On Sunday, December 4th, Team Vader, in association with Disc Dogs of the Golden Gate, performed at the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship at Avaya Stadium, in San Jose, CA. The final came down to USC vs W Virginia, with USC winning, 3 to 1.

We arrived and Vader surveyed the stadium from outside...  he seemed to approve.

While inside the stadium, Vader was telling Bruce about when he has the disc like this, that he needs to do that...

Then we decided to get on with it and give the fans a show as part of the DDoGG demo team.

We had a blast.

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You can see more at our Flickr Album.
Or watch the video on Vader's YouTube Network Channel!

The 2016 Pet Food Express Bay Area Pet Fair With Stunt Dog Productions

Last weekend Vader & friends were part of a show with Stunt Dog Productions at one of the biggest pet adoption fairs in California, called the Pet Food Express Bay Area Pet Fair held at the Marin Center at San Rafael, CA on Oct 15 & 16, 2016. The Stunt Dog Productions team put on demos throughout the weekend.

Over the last few years, the Bay Area Pet Fair got over 3,700 pets adopted into new homes and boasts an attendance of over 75,000 animal lovers.

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Saturday was a crazy day. The weather was an angry mistress with blustery winds and at times, heavy rain. But thank goodness we were performing under a "big top" tarp.

On top of that, Cesar Millan was in the Bay Area region filming for his new show with his son Andre, called Dog Nation. The show will premiere in February, 2017 on Nat Geo Wild.

After spending the week in the Bay Area, Cesar held two shows at the Fair, resulting in the Stunt Dogs team sharing the "big top" with Cesar and Andre.  No matter what anyone may say, Cesar puts on a funny show and showed that there's no editing involved with how fast he can introduce change with problem dogs.

Our shows on Saturday had huge crowds despite the weather, but the only photography that took place was when Cesar's production team taped our second show and interviewed our Stunt Dog team leader. Yea, no pressure there!

On Sunday we had a great rehearsal round for the show, then performed two more stunt dog shows for the day.

All in all, it ended up being a great weekend as we pulled together a fantastic show with a great team which included Vader, Lark, our bud Kristen and her pup Barley and Sara Carson and her pups. Wow, watching Sara put on a show is an amazing thing to watch!

You can check out more pics from the demo over on Vader's Flickr album.
If the first Flickr link does not work, try this one. (https://flic.kr/s/aHskK8EshH)
Or let us know in the comments that you're having issues opening the album. Thanks.

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Stunt Dog Show.com

Bay Area Pet Fair.org

Cesar Millan returns in February with Dog Nation

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Be Prepared: Know Your 24-Hour Vet Locations!

Always Be Prepared For Pet Emergencies, And Know Your 24-Hour Vet Locations!

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Whether it be a something silly or something serious, when something affects your pet after normal business hours of your local Vet, there aren't too many options one might have. Plus, being outside normal business hours, sometimes the simplest of maladies can bring on a life of their own.

One of the problems with encountering issues after hours is whether you want to wait until the next day to have something looked at, and see if it rights itself or not.

But waiting for somewhere between 12 and 18 hours may not always be your best option, if say, your pup gets a foxtail up his or her nose or eats somthing funky. Waiting those 12 to 18 hours could potentially mean the difference of a simple procedure to something potentially worse.

And in 99% of the time, conferring with Facebook Animal groups or pages IS NOT the best way to go.

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On the other end of the spectrum of maldies, if your pup got attacked by another dog or hit by a car, you would need immediate medical attention.

It's moments like these when your own adrenaline and panic modes will probably kick in. And when you are under an extreme amount of duress, are you at your best? Or at your most efficient?

Maybe, then again, maybe not.

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It's always good to be prepared for emergencies or other unforeseen events. Here are a few things you can do to be more prepared, if you have not already done these:

Earthquakes Halftime Show in San Jose

Hi everyone.

This coming Saturday night (9-10-16) Vader, as part of the team of The Disc Dogs of the Golden Gate, will be performing during the halftime show at Avaya Stadium in San Jose when The San Jose Earthquakes face off against the Seattle Sounders, and with our support, trounce those Sounders!

This will be the second time the DDoGG team has performed at Avaya, with last year being our premiere at this event.

If you are a soccer fan and might be on the bubble about going to the game... come watch the Earthquakes rattle the Sounders while the DDoGG entertain the fans during halftime!

And after the show, we'll be out behind the bar for a meet and greet with anyone interested in coming to visit the team!

PLUS, it is Root Beer Float Night, "for the charity event to scoop, pour and serve root beer floats to fans with a recommended $5 donation to the Positive Coaching Alliance, an organization dedicated to the development of young athletes and youth sports in the Bay Area."

-Vader, et al!

Check out this teaser preview of Vader the disc dog and DDoGG on the practice field with the team...

{  YouTube }

Team Vader At 'Bark For Life' Tournament In Benicia

This upcoming Saturday, August 20th, 2016, Disc Dog Vader and the team will be participating in the Disc Dogs of the Golden Gate event called "Disc Dogs Against Cancer" being held in Benicia, CA, at Benicia Middle School, located at 1100 Southampton Rd., Benicia, California 94510.

The weekend in Benicia is dedicated to the fight against the evil scourge of the earth, cancer, where they will be raising awareness and money for the fight.

On Friday night, there will be a "Relay for Life of Benicia" walk fundraiser, starting at 6pm, at Benicia Middle School.

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Then on Saturday, there will be a human/dog event, where DDoGG will be holding our tournament, in association with a Bark for Life event:

"The American Cancer Society Bark For LifeTM is a noncompetitive walk event for dogs and their owners to raise funds and awareness for the American Cancer Society's fight against cancer.

By supporting Bark For Life, you help the American Cancer Society save lives, and that helps us move closer to our ultimate goal of a world with less cancer and more birthdays."

If you're in the Benicia area, come on out for the fun, or support of the fight.

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A few weeks later, Team Vader, with the demo team from The Disc Dogs of the Golden Gate will be out in San Francisco performing a disc dog demo for another Bark for Life event. Last year's exceeded their fund raising goals while they were still at the park.

This event, on August 27th, will be at Hellman Hollow, 750 John F. Kennedy Drive, in SF.

So if Benicia's event this upcoming Saturday is too far away, but SF might be doable, then we'll see you there, performing our high flying freestyle stunts, as normal.

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Summer is Coming, Be Smart And Protect Our Dogs

The summer heat is here in full force today and I am tired of seeing FB posts and the like of reports of dogs in hot cars with the windows cracked an inch.

To The Dog Custodians Out There:

Personally, I'd like to see how you feel about sitting in the same car with your dog, with the windows opened a crack when it's 90 outside, with no shade or wind?

To be honest, "cracked" open windows and thoughtless statements like "They'll be fine" are mindless thoughts from ignorant dog custodians. Period.  Did you know that rolling down the windows a bit HAS ZERO EFFECT on the environment inside the car?

Did you know that your dog can suffer heat stroke or brain damage and can even die from a mere 15 minutes of roasting in a car? But it's "OK?" I love the famous line, I will only be gone a couple of minutes. Have you ever timed yourself and your store visits?

When the temperature is:

• 78-degrees outside, it can get up to 100-120 degrees in the car.
• On a 90-degree day, it can get up to 160 degrees in about 10 minutes.

And that's what you leave your dogs in?

The fix to this is to leave your pups at home. They can't expel heat like we can, so the effects of heat builds up faster in them. That's because they're primary cooling process is panting. But when they pant hot breath back out into the hot car you just left them in seems like more of a punishment or cruel trap.

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To the Dog Humanitarians out there:

First, I never want to hear that "I had ice cream in the car, so I could not stay." posted to FB if someone sees an animal in distress. OMG, so an innocent life may cease and suffer horrendously before it dies, because you did not want your ice cream to melt!? Sometimes events take precedence over moments.

The 2016 Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge Western Regionals

This is our experience participating in the 2016 Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge (PPPIDC) western regional event held in Huntington Beach, CA.

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This year Vader & I decided to try and participate in the PPPIDC western regional event held in HB, CA. When all was said and done, it ended up becoming one heck of a learning experience, that's for sure.

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Due to some scenarios in the week leading up to the event, we ended up leaving home at midnight (Thursday night) and arrived in time to line up for registration for the qualifier that was taking place on Friday morning. The qualifier for the Flying Disc Dogs was limited to the first 15 participants and the top two finishers (or more, at the sponsor's discretion) would go on to the competition showcase on Saturday.

I was pretty nervous at first when I arrived, signed up and gave them my USB stick with my music, but as more competitors for my division showed up, my nerves went away. That's because some of the top-tier competitors in the sport were showing up to participate in the qualifier I was eyeballing.

With my nerves calmed, I was able to relax and enjoy the experience of being here and competing/playing on this famous Purina Pro Plan IDC venue.

Team Vader's Galt Strawberry Festival Report & Our Next Appearance

Team Vader headed out to Galt, CA, for their annual Strawberry Festival last weekend. It was fun for all where we were a part of two shows, with perfect weather and a great setup. We had a blast.

The fun of it was that this time around, Lark participated in her first full blown freestyle routine, while Rue had an opportunity to showcase her "skills," so to speak.

Before you ask, Lark has participated in previous demos, but she's the go-to dog for showing spectators how to get their dog started in the world of disc dog play, whether it be for fun or the sport. She's really good at showing off the basics of how to get started.

But this time around, with her own FS moment she got her own theme song music going (Flo Rida, Wild Ones) and had a minute of show-off time!

{YouTube}

Of course Vader did his usual thing, but with a little bit more pizazz. He had the zoomies while doing the routine!

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Rue's Kingdom, the Director's Chair

But for us, the star of the show was Rue! It was her first time out and being a part of a demo and she was going to be part of the disc dog races.

Skyhoundz New Dog Disc Rule Restrictions And What You Need To Know

In case you have not heard the news yet and are preparing to or contemplating the idea of competing in a Skyhoundz event, you might want to know that as of July 1st, 2016, Skyhoundz (SH) events will now only allow you to compete with Hyperflite (HF) discs in their events.

The bottom line is that it is what it is and you can either get on board or not. It's your call. If you live in a SH zone where that's the only kind of competitions you can get to, you probably need to just deal with it and move on. Disc restrictions are nothing new. But they are new from SH.

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This new rule has sparked quite the conversation out there among the disc dog enthusiasts of the world. The reactions have ranged from hostile, to disgruntled, to resignation, while others are irked by the timing of this change, being that it comes in mid-season.  Some have called this extortion, while others are accepting of the change.

As I see it, it is what it is. If my disc dog Vader finds himself facing a potential competition hosted by SH, we'll have to dig a bit deeper in our pockets to buy discs we don't normally use.

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If you are looking to compete but don't use HF discs, here's a quick list (The images are Amazon links):

Their Competition Standard Disc comes in Orange, Pink, White or Yellow and costs $4.35 a piece on their website. It has an 8.75" diameter and weighs around 105 grams

They also sell the classic Fastback Frisbee Disc with the HyperFlite Skyhoundz logo on it. It measures out at 9 5/16" and weighs around 104 grams.

There's also their brand new Hyperflite Zdisc, which comes in red, purple, blue and white. It too costs $4.35 a piece. it measures out at a 9.25" diameter and weighs in at 114 grams.

COMPARE THESE HF disks to the popular Hero Disc USA "Hero Xtra 235s"

The Hero Xtra 235 comes in white, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red and pink. Orange is the hugely popular color. I know because if I don't time it right, I find myself being told they are out of stock on that color after the season starts.

These disks weight 105 grams, +/- 2 grams and the diameter of the discs are 235mm*.  They cost $4.99.

Unless you buy the blems, but that's for another story.

*Oh, 235mm equates to 9.25197 inches. This is the same size as HF's new Zdisc.

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Many competitions I attend allow use the 235s.

Vader prefers the Hero Disc USA Super Aero K9 Candy that weigh 111 to 116 grams and have the same dimensions as the 235 discs, 2135mm.

I use Hero Xtra 235s to practice out on the field without my dog. The K9 Candy discs have withstood his hard bite for over a year's worth of constant use while other discs come apart within a week of use. The blems cost half as much.

I went through a lot of discs and money trying to find one my disc dog likes and when I put different discs down on the ground, he'll always choose the Super Aero K9 Candy discs and literally throws the others to the side of the pile.

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Who this new rule from Skyhoundz impacts can vary, depending on your perspective.

Each manufacturer has their own spin, rules and restrictions on the sport and players need to adapt from one to the other. There is no universal consistency. There is no one board of directors, so to speak.

HF says they've been restricted from events as other hosts have disc requirements.

The other folks this change could impact are the sponsored players. Will Hero Disk players continue to participate in HF events, but just wear their sponsor's shirts while using HF discs? In my experience a sponsored athlete has unique restrictions on what they can do, use and even wear.

Another category of player this will impact is the budget restricted player. There are those that love this sport and have spent what they can on what they have and this new required expenditure could limit their participation.

Or it can impact the player who just days before this change was announced, ordered a few hundred discs of another brand. Now what? For both club or player?

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Be it as it may, the official rules from Skyhoundz states,

"Competition Discs (effective from July 1, 2016)

Skyhoundz has selected Hyperflite flying discs as the official flying discs of Skyhoundz World Canine Disc Championship Series. As such, at all Skyhoundz competitions (including, but not limited to, Local Championships, State Championships, DiscDogathon Qualifiers, Skyhoundz Classic Qualifiers, Xtreme Distance Qualifiers, DiscDogathon World Championship, Skyhoundz Classic World Championship, and Xtreme Distance World Championship), competitors are required to use Hyperflite discs. "

Team Vader At DDoGG "Tournament Day in May" Event

You  ready Vader? I am ready Bruce!

Disc Dog Vader and the rest of Team Vader showed up in San Ramon, CA, for Disc Dogs of the Golden Gate tournament called "Tournament Day in May." It was wonderful weather and there was a great turnout at this event!

Run Lark, run like the wind!!!

Lark and Vader were competing, but my throwing wasn't too great when Lark and I were up. In one round I had a photographer in the way and Lark didn't like him in her way and she let the disc land.  That was my bad because I threw that disc about 40 or 50 feet beyond the end of the 120-foot long field. Oops. Poor Lark!

Vader's Demo at CBS's Pet-a-Palooza Event

Last weekend we hit up Citrus Heights, CA to be a part of the Disc Dogs of the Golden Gate demo at the CBS Radio sponsored Pet-a-Palooza event.

It was a fun day, that's for sure.

If you're on Facebook, here's a link to our FB Album. If you aren't on FB, here's a link to our Flickr Album.

Even Rue participated, sort of.

Pet-A-Palooza - The Next Gig For Vader, The High Flying Disc Dog

Via press release!:

Team Vader will be performing at the CBS Radio Pet-a-palooza event, taking place at Rusch Park, 2801 Auburn Blvd, Citrus Heights, CA, this upcoming Saturday, April 23rd, 2016. At the time of this post, the weather is supposed to get up to 75 degrees, and partly cloudy. Don't forget your sunscreen and water!

The CBS Radio Pet-A-Palooza is billed as “Sacramento’s biggest free pet event,” and is presented by CBS Radio, BelAir, Raley's, Lashers Elk Grove Subaru, and sponsored by Cache Creek, SolarCity, SMUD, VCA and ESKATON.

The event is open from 10 to 4, with disc dog demonstrations from Lark and Vader, in conjunction with The Disc Dogs of the Golden Gate disc dog club, will be taking place at 11am, 1pm, and 2:30pm. Along side the disc dog demonstrations, there will also be a dog obstacle course, an exotic animal show, pet adoptions area, a kid's area, food vendors and a beer garden. (I think I should stay away from "the garden!")

On top of all that, the musical entertainment will be presented by American Idol’s Haley Reinhart and singer-songwriters Matt Nathanson and Ben Rector!

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Team Vader's Day At The 2016 UC Davis Picnic Day (And Our Next Gig)

Team Vader had a great day last weekend at the 2016 (102nd) UC Davis Picnic Day event where we took part in a demonstration and also participated in a mini Toss & Fetch contest.

The demos were fun as the enthusiastic fans cheered and wowed the the demo teams on.

And while all the stunts were going on during the freestyle Frisbee Dog demos, with Disc Dogs of the Golden Gate, the fans did not let up during the mini Toss & Fetch contest as they cheered and clapped for jumping dogs and exciting mid-air catches.

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Even though Toss and Fetch is more up Vader's alley, we floated the discs higher than normal because the wind was a wonky beast this day so I played it safe and the floaters made for fun times for the fans as they watched Vader jump for his discs!

Lark performed flawlessly, except for the fact that some of the floating discs did not want to come down to meet her anxious teeth!

Of course the day would not be totally complete without a little adventure.

The sound system that was provided for us went belly up which delayed the event by just a few minutes until one of the team members just happened to drag out their old system that they had with them in their car.

Vader and Team To Be At The 2016 SACRAMENTO SPCA Doggie Dash

This upcoming Saturday, April 9th, 2016, Vader and team will be at William Land Park in support of the Sacramento SPCA Doggy Dash Event, which is perfect, considering all of Team Vader consists of rescue pups!

http://sspca.convio.net/site/TR?fr_id=1130&pg=entry

We'll be there as part of the demonstration team of Disc Dogs of the Golden Gate and there will be other great events taking place as well.

The demonstrations

9:15 a.m. - Arena 1 - Disc Dogs of the Golden Gate Demonstration
11:00 a.m. - Arena 1 - Performance Dogs in Action - Herding Demonstration
11:30 a.m. - Arena 1 - Flyball Show
11:45 a.m. - Arena 1 - Sacramento Police Department K9 Unit Demonstration
12:15 p.m. - Arena 1 - Disc Dogs of the Golden Gate Demonstration

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While some of the fun contests include

10:00 a.m. - 2K and 5K Walks Begin
11:00 a.m.  - Arena 3 - PUG RACES - Heats evern 10 minutes until final race off
11:00 a.m. - Arena 4 - CONTEST - Canine Games Most Enthusiastic Tail Wag contest
11:10 a.m. - Arena 4 - CONTEST - Canine Games Best Smile contest
11:20 a.m. - Arena 4 - CONTEST - Canine Games Best Kisser contest
11:30 a.m. - Arena 4 - CONTEST - Canine Games Cutest contest
11:45 a.m. - Arena 4 - CONTEST - Canine Games Best Tricks contest
12:00 p.m. - Arena 4 - CONTEST - Canine Games Best Look-a-Like contest
12:20 p.m. - Arena 4 - CONTEST - Canine Games Best Costume contest
12:30 p.m. - Arena 1 - Disc Toss and Fetch contest
12:35 p.m. - Arena 4 - CONTEST - Canine Games Mystery Mutt contest
12:45 p.m. - Arena 2 - RUFF MUTTER awards
12:45 p.m. - Arena 4 - CONTEST - Canine Games Walks with an Attitude contest
12:55 p.m. - Arena 4 - CONTEST - Best of Show

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There is one BIG caveat though...

The event will be taking place, rain or shine, and it's a 90% chance of rain! But we will be there... 

Please Microchip Your Pets

Please Microchip your pet, You never know when you might need it. And to all the vets out there, I'm sure you always do, but please, always scan for chips!

When most normal folk adopt or rescue an animal, they do so with the intent to love and care for the critter, whether it be cat or dog, for the life of the animal. At least that's my presumption. But depending on the human, one's idea of how to care and contain an animal seem to vary widely.

I've seen how people keep their dogs and it ranges widely from letting their animals roam freely about the neighborhood like those "leash free" pee runs, to actually having fenced-in yards.

But even the yard controls seem to vary from home to home. Some yards are immaculate and well maintained and secure while others stay together via sheer will of momentum, barring any stiff winds or hard pushes with a little wet dog nose.

Regardless of how you feel about your own pet's security or inability to escape your oversight, it happens folks. Period.

There are nearly 14,000 animal shelters in the U.S., and almost 4  million companion canines enter those shelters each year, with just over a million dogs killed (code for euthanize) each year.

On average, of the dogs that come into a shelter, only 26% are returned to their owners, 35% get adopted out and the rest get killed if no one adopts them out or takes them into an already over-run rescue system.

To be honest most "got out" stories can end with a happy ending, but there are still many that don't.