Oh Kathy, you must be so happy! Did you know you were going to be an obedience champ when started training her?

I can relate since we used to go to dog shows and marvel and the obedience trials. We had an Alaskan Malamute. They are very intelligent, willful dogs who are very hard to train for normal everyday life, let alone obedience. Can't imagine what you have been through to train Daisy so well--I know terriers have their own challenges!

Well, Uncle Fred,

I am guessing that Hannah said yes - so I will really have to pull out all the stops for you and Uncle Pat. I will have to give you some BaaBaaQues to give to my little cousin Katyusha. The secrets are Big Paws Pantry for down stays, Baa Baa Ques for follow and peanut butter for staying in Miss Gulch's basket.

Wendy - It's not as much obedience as it is knowing my dog and what motivates her - same as for us - good food!

Auntie Katya - Thanks for encouraging my dads to come to see my cousin, Daisy, perform. By the way, most people (since they are mere humans, and not privileged DOGS) may not understand what you mean by Big Paws Pantry treats. Therefore, I will point out that Big Paws Pantry makes the world's best dog treats. They are made to order when you send in the order by phone or email. They are all human-quality (which is probably not as good as DOG-quality) ingredients; and my dad, Fred, has actually tried all of them - he said that they taste like good spice cookies, without the sugar. I recommend them highly to all of my doggie colleagues on LCT - the website is www.bigpawspantry.com. I have sent them to all of my doggie pals, including cousin Daisy. But that doggone Carol at Big Paws has still not given me my commission for all the referrals. What about that??!! Cheers, Katyusha

Maggie would like her autograph before Daisy becomes too famous!

I don't know why this link to Big Paws seems to not be working, since it is the right URL. But if you want to find the best doggie treats in the world, go to your search engine and enter Big Paws Pantry to get the link to this wonderful world of really good (and healthy) doggie treats that Daisy and I both love. My dads just learned that my housesitter is available to spoil me and my doggie and kitty colleagues for the week-end of August 6, which will allow them to go down to L.A. to see my cousin, Daisy, do her starring turn as Toto. A couple of other LCTers are attending that week-end, as well. Fun, fun, fun, woo, woo, woo!!!
Cheers, Katyusha

I will try to take a photo of her in rehearsal and see if I can post it. The actors are Equity and they do not allow photos or video. But, I think I can do Daisy in the rehearsal hall.

Freddie - the reason why your link doesn't work is that there's an extra period at the end of your link. :)

Masaki

I think a cake is in order for Daisy's accomplishments!

Congratulations to Kathy and Daisy. Just think how pumped you'll be after the performances!

Karen, great cake again.

Wow, Karen! I will have to take that to the Black Tie dinner they are holding. Daisy gets to go to the dinner. I bought her a very Ozian collar. Will have to take a photo with her in it.

Great cake, Karen!!!!!!

Kathy - I loved your new update on Daisy. The rehearsal went beautifully. You have every right to be a very proud mom!!! I'm really looking forward to seeing her in the 8/6 matinee performance. What a treat.

Fred & Pat, It's wonderful that you are coming down too!! Sure hope I get to spend a little time visiting you both - between performances!!

Daisy is becoming a big star! Can't wait to see her in action. It's great that her uncles, Fred and Pat, will be able to see her performance. What a great story this is! And, my Duncan, the Dachshund, thanks you for the Big Paws Pantry reference! Yum yum smack smack!

Michele

Well, we did rehearse yesterday and we got the weekend off for the most part. Next week we have two full days of rehearsals to do. We got mention now on the website.

http://www.toaks.org/theatre/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=448

Sadly, Fred and Pat, will not be able to come down and join in. I am going to try to take some photos next week. Next Tues and Wed, they will be doing complete scenes in the rehearsal hall without costumes.

Now if I could only turn off the music playing in my head from hanging out during these rehearsals, I have a continual song going (Ding Dong, Oleo-yo-low and Merry Old Land of Oz - take your pick)

Kathy,

I am so impressed!!! Your name in print!!! I'll need autographs (pawgraphs?) from both you and Daisy!!!

Fred & Pat - I'm disappointed that you won't be there 8/6. Would have loved to visit.

Kathy - don't get me started on the songs. I started playing them in my head just reading your post! I bet it is impossible for you to get them out of your head :D :D

Enjoy your weekend off before the big whirlwind when Oz begins!!!!!

Cyndi - If our dear housesitter, Hannah, can make herself available, we are back on for the Oz adventure on August 6. We'll be at the evening performance. We will have to get together after the matinee, right? I am sure that Kathy, the master organizer, will work some magic to get us all together between the two shows on that Saturday. Hoping to see you in a few weeks, Cheers, Fred

Rehearsals are going to be full play practice now, scene by scene in sequence. Music and all - just no costumes or props yet, except for a copy of the infamous picnic basket.

We had to do a PR promo yesterday and the photographer in me had to take pictures. There were 1800 people at the community fair just before the Fireworks. The kids attending were not all that interested in Dorothy or Glinda - Toto stole the show. The photos show the Director and the Executive Director of the theatre group (holding my Toto) as well as Dorothy, Glinda and the Wizard.

View the photos of the Promo here at Ofoto

Great pictures Kathy! Your Daisy is so well behaved! I'm afraid my dogs would have been running all over amongst the crowd.

Marcie - a leash is a good prop to have! Of course, on stage, no leash! But treats are quite motivating. I just wrote her stage bio to go into the Playbill. It says "will work for food"

Kathy...Daisy is definitely the STAR! The photos are great....will you share her bio with us? I've never "known" a star before :)

Kathy - what fun pictures!!!! Daisy makes a superb Toto! Dorothy is cute too. Glinda is very pretty. And, what a beautiful day it was! Crystal clear!! Thanks so much for posting the photos.

Fred - I didn't mean to ignore you. I'm SO GLAD that you & Pat will be able to come down afterall. Yes, I'm sure that Kathy, the master organizer, will wave Glinda's magic wand and arrange something for us so we can visit. She mentioned a light supper between the matinee and evening performance. I'll be able to join in for that. Hope you & Pat can too. It should be quite a fun day!!! See you soon.

Today's Daisy Update:

We're 12 days from opening night. We did the first run through of the play yesterday from start to finish with some partial costumes. The energy was very high in the room with all the excitement. I left in tears.

Backing up to July 4th, we had a personal appearance where Dorothy sang with Glinda and Daisy. When it was over,the people (200 to 300 maybe) were allowed to crowd around for a meeting with characters. Toto was the only one the people wanted to see. I was holding her since I wanted to limit the kids petting her to one at a time so not to overwhelm her and to keep her safe.

Since then Daisy has not performed well for Dorothy. She knows her stuff, but, I was trying to figure out the why on stage was she so off. We;ve has special rehearsals for Daisy and Dorothy and she works perfectly with me there as coach.

But yesterday in the rehearsal, I saw why. Dorothy is not cue-ing for the behavior the way she was taught - on purpose. Wrong treats and motions for the behavior requested - refusing to make eye contact with the dog. I already had brought up my concerns to the Director, so I can't complain, but, how crummy. I think she is afraid to be upstaged. I caught her last week telling another lead character that she did not want Daisy in a few scenes. Now I am certain why. She also doesn't want to carry 15 pounds around the stage. The stuffed animal is much lighter.

So the director told me yesterday, she will re-work Daisy's scenes. She's still in most scenes. But, she won't be trotting across the front curved stage (called the Passeral - between the audience and the orchestra pit - in front of the main stage) Oh well, there is a theater addage about working with kids and dogs and this has both. About 60-75 in the cast. They all love Daisy. She will still be cute, but, she won't do all the things I taught her. Too bad I can't play Dorothy. Besides, I can't carry a tune.

Kathy, Welcome to the world of "stars" and their concerns of upstaging. You are right - that IS crummy of Dorothy. I'm glad you figured it out so you could at least find a way to make the most out of a bad situation. Good for you! Don't worry, Daisy will still shine through in all her scenes!!!!

Yuck. Welcome to the world of show biz, I guess.

Imagine being small-minded enough to worry about being upstaged by a dog!

I suppose that's what happens in small town show biz. I bet a real star wouldn't do this to Daisy..

I'm so sorry about this situation ......... This grabbed at my heart so I can imagine how you must feel. Take a deep breath. Your little Daisy will be the star no matter what Dorothy does or doesn't do....... We will cheer even louder now for Daisy! Get ready!! :) Michele

Kathy,

I just saw your photos for the first time - Daisy is just a doll!! I hope everything works out for her now that Dorothy has her nose bent out of shape. (I was going to say how cute Dorothy was, but now I will not.)

I am sure it will be great. You must be a proud mama!

Thanks for all your good wishes. Maybe instead of biting Miss Gulch, Toto will bite Dorothy (just kidding)

That would be a good one Kathy (and I'm not kidding!)

Well, I am just back from rehearsals. They are going to give Daisy extra time to practice with the actors although they did change her role in several scenes to be carried on and off stage. She just won't be doing what I trained her so hard to do. Oh well. I better be just proud of what she does do. Make lemons of lemonade. She still steals the show.

Sorry to hear about this, Kathy. We're sure that Daisy would have completely stolen the show if she were allowed to show all of her natural talent!

Masaki

Auntie Katya - Well, I am sure that I warned you that the actress playing Dorothy might turn out to be much more of a bitch than Daisy is. You just can't trust those humans to keep their ridiculous egos in control, can you?? Well, I am certain that my dear little cousin, Daisy, will perform the scenes left to her wonderfully. My dads, Fred & Pat, are going to fly down to L.A. to see Daisy's star turn and will throw rotten tomatoes at Dorothy if she tries to upstage the little doggie. Love, Katyusha

We're back from today's rehearsal and My Daisy did everything perfectly. Yes, I really believe that it's all about Dorothy. Frank took the earlier part of the afternoon rehearsal and I went for the evening stint. I took Daisy out for a walk on break and when I came back there was a scene (Farewell to Oz - the balloon scene) where Dorothy holds Toto waiting for the Balloon. Sure as I am sitting here, she had the stuffed animal Toto in her arms and did a snit when I said "Marissa, Daisy's in this one". Daisy must know. Every one else in the cast is busy kissing my girl. Wait until the Black Tie fundraising dinner Friday. I have the best outfit (Fancy Collar) and Daisy is going to the WHOLE dinner - but Dorothy only comes to sing a song (probably Rainbow - and she has to hold Daisy while she sings it!)

Would love to see a picture of Daisy on Friday night with her fancy collar - I'm sure she will shine! Dorothy has some maturing to do... You're doing a great job, Kathy. - Michele

Thank you all for letting me vent here. Yes, I guess if I were 15 years old, I'd want to have the full focus on me. It's just sad that I've worked so hard, with Daisy, and she will not get to do all she learned for this. Wait until you see the program - here photo and bio are in it.

Since Daisy is so well trained, is there any way on the closing night that you can, when Dorothy is singing "Over the Rainbow" and holding Daisy that you can train Daisy to start a little shower of her own ALL OVER DOROTHY. Or, mayber you can train Daisy to sing along? That will teach her!!!

What a small person to upstage a sweet pooch. :b:

Well, I feel we got our due tonight. Daisy did everything perfectly except reveal the Wizard behind the curtain because no one told her to go to him. They invited a dog trainer (not a very good one) to talk to me and watch the show start to finish (it was with costumes and makeup for the first time). She said it's them. I knew that. But it came from the trainer, not me. They aren't properly baiting Daisy or instructing her. And one of the stage hand/costumers brought their dog in a crate and Daisy still did everything she was told to do.

I will of course post a photo of Daisy in her Ozian Hat and her Party Collar.

Kathy, I sent your situation to a friend of mine who is an animal behavioralist and a wonderful person. She responded:

"It is probably too late now, but the director should have gone out of his way to address this earlier.

More early bonding time between the two stars as well as greater attention on the kid (by the way is Dorothy a Kid or an adult?) might have helped. Too much attention on the dog can be counter-productive and hard on the dog. If the dog’s stress level increases, it can affect his performance. Of course, not getting his cues doesn’t help either."

Thanks, Andi - that was lovely of you. Daisy is actually not stressed out at all. She loves being with all the little kids and greets everyone as they enter the hall. She is so funny, she insisted on watching the performance when she wasn't working. I went to sit with her behind the piano since it was the only chair left and she was leash free and moved to the other side of the piano so she could watch - her head was going from side to side to see it all.

She sounds like a character. Is Dorothy a child or Adult?

Dorothy is 15