Um. Hello.

Hi! I’m The Blue Dog, but sometimes I’m called Nayland. Officially, I’m Zuzax Inspector Nayland Smith, named for the dogged pursuer of the evil Dr. Fu Manchu in the novels by Sax Rohmer. I don’t really know what all of that means but it’s what mom and dad say when people ask about my name. Mostly they just call me “Nayland”, “Nails”, “Nailey-Dog”, “Blue” or “Off”.

I’m a two-year old Australian Shepherd and I live in the Chicago suburbs with my humans and three other aussies. It’s a good life for a blue dog even if I don’t have my own sheep. (I LOVE to play with sheep.) I have a big yard for running and playing and it’s full of fun agility equipment. Mom likes to train and compete in agility so all of us dogs get to practice and she gives us lots of treats. I try really hard to be a good agility boy but it’s tough sometimes. Apparently I lack impulse control. I don’t know what that means. When there’s a jump in front of me I want to take it. What’s wrong with that? It’s boring to stay when there’s fun to be had.

I like lots of different things. Last year we went lure coursing a couple of times and that was really fun. I know it’s just a silly plastic bag but as long as I get to RUN it doesn’t really matter what I’m chasing. I tried swimming once last year. It was by accident since I just followed my friends into the water but I didn’t hate it. Maybe I’ll get to try it again this year. I also like to catch the Frisbee but I don’t like to bring it back so our games are usually pretty short. Mostly I just like to hang out with my people, especially if I can sit in someone’s lap and be petted.

My friend, Fergus, gave me the idea to tell the outside world about my life. Fergus is a very wise dog. He’s a golden retriever but sometimes he lets me pretend that he’s a sheep. That’s what friends are for. Make sure you visit his blog and see what he’s been doing.