What do you do with your dogs?
If you’re like me, you’re out and about with them as much as possible, and always looking for something different to do. Well, guess what? Our dogs are thinking that, too—what can we do together besides the same-old yawner of a walk?
Sure, I’m an animal communicator so I know because they tell me, but I assure you that everyone can know what their dogs are thinking simply by observing them on walks—do they check out the new spring flowers, notice what’s going on around them, or are they simply slogging along like you are, a bit bored with the same old?
Seattle is a good place to live with dogs. Except maybe for this winter, when going out is more a matter of endurance than fun exercise.
I meet dogs and their people all the time when I’m out with my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Ollie, who’s a bundle of energy (somehow, the older you get the more energy your dog seems to have, or Ollie is just more rambunctious than my previous two Cavaliers, or … something). I also meet them in my work as a pet blogger and author who writes about the human-animal bond, and as an animal communicator. That’s a job that combines everything from extensive knowledge of canine behavior (what I call family harmony) and health issues to grief counseling and dying and transitioning.
One question I hear a lot, on the street and in sessions, is how to make living with dogs more active and more fun. Sure, there are dog parks, but I’m not the only one avoiding them because of safety and health reasons. And you can vary walks.
But what about dog sports?
One sport I just heard about in Whole Dog Journal is canine parkour, the dog-friendly version of parkour. If you’ve seen the human version, you’ve seen people running, climbing, jumping, and generally managing obstacles on either a designed course or, as I’ve seen in downtown Seattle, an improvised one (using steps and ramps to add variety to a run).
Well, now you can do it with your dog and even get a certificate, if you’re so inclined (it’s done by video submission, no traveling to events). What I like about it is it emphasizes safety above all: for example, your dog must have a safety harness, he or she can’t jump more than shoulder height, and you must spot him or her, or you don’t score. What I like even more is that it supports strength training and body awareness for both me and Ollie, and it gave me ideas for entertaining him, and keeping him fit, by offering him challenges on our daily walks. So I showed him how to hop on a foot-high rock on a walk: at first he hesitated, but the next day he completely owned it. Could’ve been Mount Everest, I’m telling you!
If you’re interested in competitive sports, check out a local training facility, and in particular the Seattle Kennel Club’s 2017 show this weekend, March 11-12, in downtown Seattle at the CenturyLink Field Event Center. Besides the traditional obedience routine you can check out agility competition, where the trainers send their dogs through a variety of obstacles.
A little timid about jumping into obedience or agility? Try rally, a stepping stone up from the AKC Canine Good Citizen trial to obedience. Here you and your dog train for a variety of skills but with the emphasis on teamwork, not perfection. That means you’re creating a closer bond with your dog as well as keeping him or her stimulated and fit.
While you’re at the show check out flyball, another fun sport for you and your dog. Here the dog runs a course of jumps to trigger a box loaded with a ball, then catches the ball and returns through the jumps. Sounds fun, right? I know my Ollie would be so eager for the ball to fly again that he’d skip the return jumps to make it pop up quicker, but each to their own.
Catch flyball at 12:30 on Saturday and 11:30 on Sunday (don’t forget daylight savings time!).
There’s plenty to do both days. Leave your dogs at home, though (promise them treats, toys, and great ideas for playtime, and they’ll forgive you). Enjoy!
© 2017 Robyn M Fritz