Dogs @ Fun

Camp gone to the dogs…Tails up!

Atail-wagging good time is what we canines have at ‘Camp gone to the dogs’ (www.campgonetothedogs.com) in Vermont (US). Big or small – we’re all loved. We learn new things and surprise our parents with our natural abilities. The instructors at the camp are nationally and internationally known trainers, who guide us with kindness, fairness and love, using things we love – treats, toys, play and petting. The camp was started by Honey Loring in 1990 and since then, it has been loved equally by us and our parents. I (Zeta, a Polish Lowland Sheepdog) also had an opportunity to attend this lively camp in September 2005 with my parents and my brother Zorro. When we got to the camp, I was thrilled to see a lot of people and more than 140 dogs (of almost 35 breeds) from all across the country. And you know what, there was one dog from Hawaii as well. To tell you a secret, I even met a really handsome dog from Vermont named Shelby and we had fun playing together.
I learnt new activities after attending the Purely Positive Recall and Small Dog Agility Classes. I learned to run through the tunnel and chute, go over the A frame, through the tyre and do the Dog Walk. I had lots of fun with Jump Chute, which is a sequence of jumps to go over. My favourite was zooming through the tunnel. I went to frisbee classes and had fun chasing it.
The best class was lure coursing, where you chase a white plastic bag around a huge field. Earlier I thought that I would never bark or get excited just because a plastic bag was moving across a field. As I got closer to the field, I could see the bag and I took off like a shot and started dragging Mom to the field. When it was my turn, I ran the entire course without stopping and caught the bag at the end. Perhaps this was the activity I enjoyed most.
Zorro also had lots of fun attending agility, tricks, and fun games. He even went to Obedience Class to prepare for the Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog International Tests. He passed both tests and is going to visit people at nursing homes and hospitals. Mom and I did Freestyle dancing together and I learned how to spin in two directions and weave through her legs. What was really fun was Arts & Crafts. Zorro and I got to paint Pawtraits that turned out really cool. Mom is getting them framed for Dad’s office! We even went to a Dog Massage seminar and that was really good as Mom learned massage techniques. I loved agility so much that I now attend classes every Monday night. What is even better is that our backyard now has a tunnel, chute, tyre and jumps for me to play.
Tails up ! Woof Woof ! for pooch camping as it takes bonding to greater heights.