"Carry a Big Stick," by Karen Pettengill

"DOG DAY"
CELEBRATE DOG!
Fun for Dogs and their People
Saturday, September 22, 10-3,
Skyline Farm and Carriage Museum

On Sept. 22, join fellow dog enthusiasts at lovely Skyline Farm, 95
The Lane, North Yarmouth, Maine for a special "Dog Day" from 10-3.
Handlers and their canines strut their stuff in a variety of dog
hobbies, including agility, fly-ball, doggie dancing ("freestyle")
and service dog work. There will be numerous "clinics" where you and
your dog will have a chance to learn cool new stuff, including
a "Walkin' Clinic" where you can learn how to teach your dog to walk
nicely on leash, an "Attention! Clinic" where you can learn how to
get your dog's attention more easily, a "Targeting Clinic" so you
can gain better control over your dog and do really amazing things,
among others. Attending dogs will be invited to try their paws out
with the agility equipment and learn how we teach our dogs to love
it through the use of positive-reinforcement training. You can also
visit the "Trainer is In" table for professional advice!

PRESENTERS
Service dog Demos by My Wonderful Dog
Flyball with Paula O'Brien of Goodog Pet Care and Training.
Canine Muscial Freestyle with Nancy Freedman-Smith of Gooddogz Training
and Jenny Yasi of Whole Dog Camp .
Agilty with Sherry Dietrich and her team of 4-Hers.
Draft Dog Carting with Debbie King of the Collie Club of Maine and The American Working Collie Association.

Diana Logan CPDT of Pet Connection Dog Training and
Mallory Hattie CPDT of Raising Canine, Buxton, organizers of this
event, will be on hand to educate the public about the power of
positive-reinforcement training. This modern, dog-friendly approach to training will be displayed throughout the day through demos and participatory activities.

A few other activities will include:

HUMAN AGILITY TEAMS

Pairs of human 'dog-handler' teams will thrill spectators with their
creative choreography in negotiating some of the agility obstacles
(jumps and weaves). Freestyle and obedience moves are encouraged
during each team's 1 minute-only fiasco. Or, rather, "fiesta."

DUNKIN' FOR DOGS

How fast can YOUR dog find and gobble up 5 pieces of hotdog in a
puppy (a.k.a. "kiddie") pool? You may discover that your dog has
some special skills... or not... Maximum time allowed is 2 minutes.

BRING YOUR OWN DOG!

BYOD! The public is welcome to bring well-behaved dogs to this
event - it's all about celebrating dog with other dog-lovers!
Attending dogs must be well-socialized and on-leash. Please leave
reactive and aggressive dogs at home.

DOG SAFETY. Respect the personal space of dogs and keep your own dog
close to you and on-leash. If you want to pet someone's dog, ask
first! Be safe and refrain from allowing your dog to interact with
strange dogs; leashed dogs will often display aggression towards
dogs who enter their space - it's always best to meet off-leash, but
Dog Day isn't the appropriate venue.
No flexie leashes!

Return to Skyline another day to explore the fields and trails with
your well-behaved dog off-leash (beware that horses, both ridden and
driven, frequent Skyline Farm).

BRINGING YOUR DOG? DON'T FORGET THE TREATS!

Events like this can present a very distracting environment for your
dog, so bring lots of high value treats and patience - there's so
much to learn!

EVENT SCHEDULE

The event starts at 10:00 with an introduction of Skyline Farm
followed by agility, flyball at 10:30, more agility, general
activities, canine musical freestyle at 12:30, service dog demos in
the museum at 1:30, and yet more agility! At 2:30 there will be a
demonstration of Skyline's Wheelchair-Accessible Cart, driven by
Donna Thurston of Winterberry Farm in North Yarmouth. If your dog
has never seen a horse pulling a cart, be ready for a reaction!
Lunch will be available midday for purchase. Clinics and agility
demonstrations will be scattered throughout the day.

THERE'S LOTS TO SEE AT SKYLINE!
Skyline Farm's Carriage Museum will be open from 12-3 and its second
annual national art exhibit, "A Dog and Pony Show," will be on
display among the horse-drawn vehicles.
Click this link to read more about the Dog and Pony Show art exhibition.

ADMISSION

Admission will be $5 per car, proceeds to benefit Skyline Farm, a
non-profit organization.

NEED MORE INFO?

For more information, please contact Diana Logan CPDT, 207-829-3187 or
write dogday@petconnectionmaine.com