(Warning, this is a very long post with lots of pictures!)
I was honoured when I was asked to offer two mini-demos for two libraries in the region. The sessions are very basic, where I include doggy etiquette, rally o, therapy work, and agility. I’m not an expert in dog sports, but I have fun practicing them, and a bonus…. my dogs love kids!
The first demo was at the Russell Township Public Library, the Embrun branch. The public library offers services in partnership with local French Catholic school. It’s actually my alma mater, but I was so disoriented! A new intermediate school was built on what used to be our school yard! Yes, it was that big! We had huge fields beyond that, as well as small woods we would visit almost every fall. Now, it’s all houses, houses, and houses it seems. It’s the price to pay for being an Ottawa suburb. *sad sigh*
I have no picture of the morning demo, but all I can say is that it was HOT! The dogs stayed in the shade when not working, so all was well. Some of the kids had attended last year, and remembered the dogs! We ended with a meet and greet inside the library, where air conditioning made the whole session very comfortable!
The afternoon demo was in the neighouring village, Russell. The location offered shade… Yippee! I had time to spare, so took a picture of our “outside office” and the setup.
Outside office! You can see the fenced-in library gardens behind the dogs.
As you can see, I even established a “line” with cones to make sure the kids wouldn’t be running in dogs.
The dogs were happy, and still willing to work. We were joined by a husky buddy, Killarney! Jasmine was so tired by the end of the day; she was nodding off when I was putting the equipment away.
The library has an outside garden adjacent to the children’s department. I tried to take a good picture, but the light is too bright, and it was so hot… This is the best I could do.
Hot Dogs!
Tucked away in the corner was a “Bug Motel”. It was the result of a previous activity and kind of neat! This would be interesting to do next year at work.
I stopped at my parents on my way back home. The dogs said their hellos to everyone, but wasted no time in relaxing…
Tired Jasmine
Our next demo was two weeks later at the Champlain Public Library in Vankleek Hill. The session was part of their end of Summer Reading Club party …. no pressure!!! Yikes!
Introducing the dogs in Vankleek Hill
It was a sticky, sticky day, but the sun made itself scarce, so that was a relief! The rain also held off to everyone’s delight! I didn’t bring my cheat sheet, and yes, I did the agility segment too early as I usually end with it. Still, I think the kids liked it.
I love the smile of the little girl’s face! We’re about to do figure eights around two kids. Do you see Fannie’s focus on me? Wow? I must have food in my hand.
Jasmine was the humour relief of the event, as she decided to go off exploring…. during an agility sequence!!! She ended up in someone’s backyard, but luckily, a library staff snatched her. It seems that Jasmine was actually on the house’s back porch, looking for a way inside. I was keeping an eye out on the street, but could hear the kids laughing and screaming in the park. It seems that everyone thought it was hilarious that the dog was found, but not the human! Jasmine looked all innocent and cuddly in the library staff’s arms, so I gave her a break until we did the crate games.
Jasmine playing crate games with a little girl. I have a look of “Don’t you dare wander away Jazzy!”
Fannie did awesome when we did the therapy testing segment. Yes, I’m very honest about some so-called “therapy dogs”, but parents have been lied to by unethical breeders. They can’t be too informed I say! Here is the video…
Jasmine showed what she can do on the weaves. Yes, I’m sloppy during demos, and it’s for the fun of it, but if you ignore the technical side of things too often, it can come back and haunt you in the future. What wasn’t “planned” was Jasmine’s jump at the end. You may be able to see it from the video, but things could have been ugly. Good thing she’s an excellent jumper! Here is the video.
The librarian invited me for a lunch at her house after, where Jasmine explored to her little heart’s delight, and Fannie met Tigger. Fannie was a lady, and simply sniffed him and walked on. Jasmine found a tennis ball close to the piano, and started to play with it. You can’t say that my dogs aren’t comfy in someone else’s home!
We haven’t been competing at all, so these little no fuss demos are fun to do!
The furry piano keys 