My weekend went to the dogs

On Saturday, Byron and I loaded up Willow and Bandit into the back of the car and headed out to Canine Fun Days, a huge dog-lovers' event that draws about 5000 people and their pooches. It's put on by the Ohio Greyhound Rescue, and features a Rescue Parade and adoption event, and a fun show with silly classes such as Best Tail Wag, Best Eyes and Biggest Smile. For me, though, the highlight was their huge selection of dog sports - events such as Dock Dogs, lure-coursing, agility, and more - all open to any breed, even to dogs who have no experience with the events.

Our first order of business was to try the sled-heads out on the agility course. Well, Willow has no aptitude for agility at all, which really isn't too surprising! Tunnels and jumps and ramps? "Kid stuff, booooor-ing", says Willow. Just take a look at that disgruntled face as she forced herself to amble through the agility tunnel.



Bandit, on the other hand, did quite well, considering he'd never seen the equipment before. I think he'd love agility, and I'm going to try and set up a mini-course in the yard for us to practice on. Here he is going down the ramp on one of the contacts, being steadied and guided by me and an assistant.



Not to worry, though, Willow did eventually find her calling. It came in the form of a couple of white crinkly plastic bags being pulled at high speeds. (Willow's name is written all over it.) The event is known as "lure coursing" and simulates the old-time rabbit chases popular with Salukis and other sighthounds.

As soon as we were within viewing distance of the "bunnies", Willow went nuts, straining at the leash and leaping in the air. She wanted to chase so bad, I'm sure she would've ripped right through the fencing if I didn't have a hold on her. When it was finally our turn, I walked her into the ring and set her on course... unclipped the leash... held her by the collar and waited. As soon as the lures took off, I snapped my hand open and she took off like a rocket.



As you can see in the video, as she rounded the second turn, she got distracted by the corner wheel that holds the lure-coursing line in place. Its high-pitched screeching noise must have been awfully distracting, because she spent a good minute play-bowing and howling at it, before I could cross the field and re-orient (read: chase) her back towards the lures.



Once she realized the bunnies weren't actually REAL bunnies, she was a little disappointed and started trotting off around the field to explore. She wasn't hard to catch, though, and we left the field and headed to the kiddie pools and hoses for a little cooling off.

After that, we spent some time checking out the vendors and the rescue booths, then packed up the pooches and headed home. Willow and Bandit slept the entire evening, and made it look like it was a chore to even get up to have dinner! I love the energy of Northern breeds, but sometimes couch potato dogs are much appreciated.