For those of you in the Denver area, the Front Range Agility Team is holding an American Kennel Club dog agility trial at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Castle Rock, CO Friday June 11th through Sunday June 12th.

If you are in the neighborhood, stop in for this FREE event and check out local dog agility stars. Also, there will be a special attraction, the Retired Agility Run of Glory, to honor our four-legged friends that have retired from the sport. Online Dog Coach stars, Kelvin and Shiner, can’t wait to join in the fun!

Click here for directions to the Douglas County Fairgrounds.

As always, please do not bring dogs that are not entered and always remind kiddos to ask permission before approaching a dog.

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Don’t Fence Us In!

I love taking my dog to off leash dog parks in the Denver metro area, including Chatfield and Cherry Creek State Parks. It provides my dog with freedom and socialization with other dogs. Recently, there has been discussion about reducing the size and placing fences around these two off leash dog parks.

Kalee enjoying the Elk Mountain dog park in Evergreen, Co.

These areas are designed for multi-use, and are funded by everyone in the state, with additional funding by park users. Dog owners, hikers, bikers, horseback riders, boaters, among others must learn to share this space. What does this mean for dog owners???

To keep these valuable spaces open to dogs, we must take action:

1. Train your dog to come when called, a.k.a. a really reliable recall even around people, other dogs, and wildlife. Dogs running up to horses, hikers, and bikes may cause inconvenience, fear, or injury. Just because your dog is friendly doesn’t mean other on-leash dogs are – and they need time out too. I also know people who have been thrown off of horses due to dogs barking or running towards their horse. And some hikers may be afraid of dogs even though yours is friendly and wonderful!
2. Pick up after your dog. It is very unpleasant to step around other dog’s poop. The excrement can also spread disease to other dogs – your dog may be carrying something even if he doesn’t have symptoms yet.
3. Know who has the right of way on trails. Hikers and their dogs yield to horses. Bikes yield to hikers and horses. Place your dog in a sit-stay off of the trail when horses are passing. If on bike, stop and dismount. Everyone should smile and say “hi.”

Finally, be friendly to everyone! Practice random acts of kindness, be a role model of the dog community so that all people – including those who don’t like dogs – enjoy our presence, invites our dogs to stay, and don’t fence us in!

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Yazzi speeds through a dog agility course

We had a very nice weekend. Very relaxed trial, outside in the elements. Hot Friday,and Saturday and sweatshirts on Sunday. Yazzie was successful with 6 qualifing runs.

This was Ryder`s first outing in a year due to illness. No “Q`s” (qualifying runs) but he seemed to enjoy himself, and he did come close to qualifing, hopefully he is back to being a healthy dog.

We had fun and you can too. Try our free online Dog Agility Training Class.

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With a busy weekend of fun activities with our dogs, we decided not to get together for dinner. Here is an update on how our dogs did  on the camping trail and at agility trial!

Maggie will continue training in dog agility

Diane takes Hunter and Maggie to Compete in Agility

Hunter had a 40% success rate. My goal is always 50%. He and I are just not connected right now. I think lack of practice is our problem.

Maggie had one perfect Jumpers run, but in all other runs, she shut down. Still the lack of confidence rears its ugly head. Practice, again, at home and in other locales.

The good news is that my arena is now open for classes and personal practice. Today I included my own training with my dogs in my weekly schedule. If you don’t schedule it, it doesn’t happen.

Brianna and Aaron Take Rankine Camping

With training and practice, our dog will come when called

Although we did not trial this weekend, we had a wonderful time in Estes Park. Rankine was excellent all weekend, he was a pleasure to take camping (ok RVing) because we have invested the upfront training time for reliability off-leash even withstanding the urge to chase after wildlife.

Rankine managed to get pet by several dozen small children, most of whom asked permission before approaching him. Interesting side note, he’s still a little skittish around 3 to 10 year olds. He has grown used to the younger ones and will take an untold amount of abuse. I suppose this will change as our baby gets a little older. We also discovered that our baby knows what the phrase “give Rankine a hug” means. Very cute!

Suzy and Kalee Stay Home

Please follow the rules so we can keep playing!

While I did go on a hike, Kalee stayed home since her old body can’t handle the heat any longer. Instead, we went for a walk around the neighborhood once the sun went down and the temperature dropped.

On both walks, I noticed many people out enjoying the holiday with their dogs. Unfortunately, some were breaking leash laws – consequently scaring off the wildlife in the state park – and failing to pick up after their pets – making the walk a bit hazardous. While out enjoying your dog in public spaces, please remember to keep your dog on leash and pick up so that we may keep the privilege of taking our dogs along on hikes, camping, and to the local parks. At parks where off-leash dogs are allowed, make sure your dog has a really reliable recall – like Rankine above – before unclipping that leash.

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You know how much you adore dogs. Share your passion for canine friends by sharing a good read, a helpful article, or time.

Books are a great way to promote empathy and responsible pet care. Check with your school or church about reading books to children or give young adult or adult readers a book  on dogs. Find books for children, young adults, and adults at the Doris Day Animal League ‘Book Bag,’ Humane Society Youth Best Books List, and Bark Notable Reads,

Find an interesting article or newsletter? Forward helpful dog training and health information to your friends. Make sure the information is correct by checking with experts in the field like American Veterinary Medical Association or local humane society fact sheets, and urban myth/internet rumor checkers like Snopes. Rest assured, any information you find at Online Dog Coach has been verified with trusted sources before we post it.

Volunteer for a local shelter. You can do anything from walking dogs and answering phones at the shelter, to doing laundry and helping run fund raising events from home.

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