Dog Day in the Park

Kirby's mom here!

Yesterday, Kirby, myself, my sister and her kids went to Dog Day in the Park. It is held every year at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is sponsored by the AKC Grand Rapids Kennel Club. They have all kinds of vendors, rescues and events that you can do with your dog. I really wanted to go this year because they have a fun rally course. You pay 5.00 and you get to work on the course for 10 minutes. I thought this would be a great way to introduce Kirby to events where there will be lots of other dogs. I was very nervous about taking Kirby because he can be very dog reactive, but guess what? HE DID GREAT!!!!

We had rally class the night before and I talked with our instructor, who is involved with the AKC GRKC, about taking Kirby. She said it would be a great idea and that Kirby needs these experiences to help him learn that he will be okay around other dogs and that I will keep him safe. She said get there early, keep his halti on, let him slowly adjust, bring really good treats and lots of praise. So we got there early walked around the outside of the event and slowly made our way in and he did so good. Everytime we walked past a dog that he didn't react too, I praised him and gave him a treat...(STEAK!). He did GREAT!!!! Even my sister couldn't believe how well he handled everything.

We did really good on the rally course, which was on grass (first time for us) and it was getting very warm. Kirby really just wanted to lay on the grass towards the end, he just sprawled out on the grass, silly dog! This was just a fun match, so treats and redo's are allowed. On one part of the course some dogs walked past the fence by Kirby and he didn't react at all! He didn't have his halti on either at this point! There was tons of distractions, music, dogs barking etc.. So it was a good intro for both of us. The course had 20 obstacles, more than we are used too, and some we had not learned yet so I improvised with ones we knew. I have a video of it, but for some reason blogger isn't uploading it!!!! UGHHH!!!! Here is a picture of the course:

They also had a canine free style demo. It was so hot by this time of the day, the dogs really didn't want to perform well, but it was fun to watch. At the end, you could go into the ring and get some pointers from them, so Kirby and I did. The lady we worked with was dressed in pink because she was a cancer survivor. She danced with her Akita who also was decked out in pink. Their group is based in the southeast section of Michigan, about 4 hours from me, but we found out they are going to be opening a center in Grand Rapids in the fall and will offer all kinds of training for dogs, including freestyle!!! The lady in pink was very impressed with Kirby and what he already knew how to do. She also said to stick with rally as it would come in handy for freestyle. Here we are with the lady in pink, getting some pointers:

It was such a fun day, and Riverside Park is a beatiful park that I had never gone too before. I think Kirby and I will be going back to do some walking there. Here are some pics from our fun day:
We had a picnic by the water's edge. Actually, it was really flooded at the park and the water isn't usually up this high, but it made for a nice, shady place to have lunch:
This is my sister, Lori, and my neices Emily and Claire.
My goofy nephew Tyler:
In the pic below is Tyler being headlocked by "Griff". Griff is the mascot for the Grand Rapids hockey team. Lots of the mascots were there, and this one was having a blast with Tyler.
They had a doggy dash de lure course too, which I really wanted to do with Kirby. This is a course where they take a black crinkly bag and put it on a wire that runs an obstacle course and the dog chases it. This is right up Kirby's alley of fun, but the only thing containing the dogs was a snow fence and I just didn't want to take the chance of Kirby getting out. Maybe next year.
I brought Kirby a cute collar bandana there too, it slides around the collar, he was pretty happy about it:
Kirby and Claire, chilling out in the shade!
My sister and her "furry nephew". She is one of his biggest fans!
Kirby and me....HIS BIGGEST FAN!!!!
This Wednesday, I will have had Kirby for an entire year! Watch for a special post on our incredible first year together!

Loving Kirby,

Kirby's mom