Woof Wag Walk 2010

This weekend was Woof, Wag, Walk with Hanover Parks and Recreation.  Normally, I only do events with Henrico Humane Society.  They have some of the larger events in the area, they're well priced, and I really have no desire to do more than two events in a year, much less in a month.  However, this time was a little different.  It was brought to my attention that Hanover was looking for a demonstrator for their show.  They needed someone to do an obedience demonstration.  Of course, I jumped at the chance.  It's one thing for me to tell people I can train their dogs.  It's quite another thing for me to show them.  So, I gathered up a few former clients, held a couple of practice sessions (followed by dinner, courtesy of my loving husband), and decided we were ready.

Saturday, we woke up early and headed out to Hanover to set up.

My first demonstration was just showing off my clients.  Six dogs lined up and proceeded to heel (in both walk and jog), weave through cones, sit, stay, down, stay, come, place, and ignore distractions.  I was so proud of everyone.  They all did such a beautiful job!  Unfortunately, I completely forgot to hand my camera off, so I don't have any pictures of them working so hard.  Oh well, maybe next time!

Before the demonstration, my booth was DEAD.  There weren't a lot of people at the event anyway, which was sad, but the people who were there just weren't stopping for a dog trainer.  The crowd was completely different from what I encounter at Henrico, and I almost felt like the in-home was a little too "froo froo" for them.  After the demo, though, things changed.  I couldn't catch a break!  People saw that I helped to create well-behaved dogs, and they wanted in on it.  Since the event was smaller, I was able to spend more one-on-one time with people.  I'm really hoping it turns out well..

At 1:30 I had my second demo.  This one was a stay demonstration followed by a stay competition.  This one was easy, because it was basically what I teach my clients every day, but it became difficult when the batteries in my microphone died.  Luckily I can have a loud voice when I need to.

Cody's posing for the camera.

Hold your stay.  Do not eat food until I release.  Good boy for looking at me.  Free!

Cody was tired, and was super-good at holding a stay while I walked around the ring.

This girl and her dog were the winners.

After my second demo, the event was over, so we packed everything up.  Since we were so close, we took the dogs to Bass Pro Shops (I love that place).  Normally, I just go with Cody and I'm stopped often so people can pet him.  This time, however, we took Cody, Tommy, Kyla, Alex, and CJ.  It was a doggy parade!  We could barely make it in the front door, and what usually takes half an hour took an hour and a half.


Anyway, by the time we left Bass Pro the dogs were pooped!  Cody fell asleep, twitching and all, in less than 5 minutes.  Tommy didn't even hesitate getting back in his crate.  When we got home, Kyla and Alex could have cared less about playing or chasing the cats.  They simply sprawled out on the floor or curled up on the couch and slept. 

All in all, it was a very good day.  I seriously hope I can do it again next year!