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Brilliant Puppies Train at Home Via Correspondence

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Brilliant Puppies Train at Home Via Correspondence

Dog training can be a hassle. The books. The videos. The classes. The special leashes and collars. The treats. Oh so many treats. That’s why the founders of Canine Correspondence University are so bullish on their prospects.

“This is a huge industry, and we’re intent on disrupting it,” said founding Dean Patricia Boleyn. According the Boleyn, the CCU is a new kind of school that will save families time and money, while providing puppies with a quality education and a sense of empowerment.

The school has just graduated its first-ever class and the results are promising. The pups trained at home via books and online coursework and earned their obedience degree in a short 5 weeks.

“Not having to drive back and forth to class was a huge bonus for us,” said Claire Targus, whose dog Sparky (pictured above) was among the first round of graduates. “[Sparky] was able to do his work at home, at his own pace. We loved that and he had a lot of fun.”

Via Andrea Arden.

Kitten Named Captain of American Hide-and-Seek Team

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Kitten Named Captain of American Hide-and-Seek Team

A cat named Lyle from Sioux Falls, SD has been named the caption of the American Hide-and-Seek team in advance of the World Championships next month in Lisbon, Portugal. Lyle has been on the team for 4 years and competed at the 2012 Olympics in London, where the US squad placed just out of medal contention in fourth.

“This year’s team is vastly improved over last year,” said hide-and-seek analyst Jamie Windsor. There has been very little turnover on the team itself – this is essentially the same roster as the 2012 group – but Windsor said the team members have much better chemistry. 

SEE ALSO: NYC Cat Is Top Contender For Hide-And-Seek Olympic Team

Much of that improved team dynamic can be attributed to Lyle. “His leadership is a huge asset to the team,” said Windsor, who thinks the Americans will give the reigning-champion Russians a run for their money at the Lisbon event. 

“These cats can hide… and seek,” said Windsor.

Via BWCK Gallery.

Puppy’s Business Model Called Into Question

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Puppy’s Business Model Called Into Question

When Larry, a dog from Indianapolis, IN, was accepted into a local startup accelerator he didn’t really have a business idea in mind. He was accepted based solely on his potential as a startup entrepreneur – he was passionate about changing the world and a never ending amount of energy.

After tinkering with some concepts, he’s hit upon an idea that generates phenomenal user growth but little revenue, and some mentors are beginning to worry.

“Free Pit Bull Kisses! is a service that clearly fills a niche, but unless Larry can explain how he plans to monetize it, I just don’t see many investors jumping on board,” said Ferguson Laird, an entrepreneur who recently sold his third company to Yahoo! for a reported $25 million. 

Startup blogger Tony Chu agrees. “Larry has built a killer service, but that’s not enough,” he said. “He has to be able to communicate to investors that he has the business acumen to make money from all those users.”

For his part, the pit bull does not seem worried.

“Free Pit Bull Kisses! is all about user acquisition right now,” said co-founder and CTO Kalista Chernin. “We have some ideas about how to monetize, but really, we’ll figure that out later. Once we get to scale, the revenue will come.”

Via Larry the Dog. Check out more at his website.