Have you dreamed of doing dog events?

[Connie Swaim]

Some people get a dog because they just want to see it run around the yard, or sit by their side in the living room. But, sometimes once a person gets a dog home, they begin to wonder, "what next?" Often dogs end up back in shelters because owners become bored or decide caring for the animal is just too much trouble.

But, there are SO many fun things you can do with a dog. Indianapolis (and Indiana as a whole) have many, many dog events for both the beginner and the advanced. You can do rally, where you read signs laid out on a course and you and your dog have to follow the directions. You can do agility, which you have probably seen on TV. While agility looks difficult, beginning classes and events are much less stressful. Then, there is competitive obedience. You can win ribbons and titles just by having a dog that can heel, sit, down and be polite for a judge. You can train your dog to do therapy work or if you want to do extreme dog sports check out things like Schutzhund.

Except for AKC events, mutts are welcomed at most other events. I've done competitive obedience and Schutzhund and my dog Batman is a certified therapy dog. You have such a better bond with your dog if you do events and train together as a team. You get a much better trained dog and you get to have fun. Besides his therapy dog designation, Batman also has a CD-X (companion dog obedience title from St. Huberts), a BH in Schutzhund, and is a Canine Good Citizen. The Bat is now working on an Open title in Companion Dog Sports, which is a program started by St. Huberts.

If you want to try a dog sport, look at some of the great dogs at HSI. That's where I found Batman three years ago. Now, there is a great dog, Lexie, who is super smart and has already been started on agility equipment. She can down, sit, target, and roll over. She would LOVE to have a job and be someone's ticket to fame and fortune (ok, not so much fortune and maybe only very local fame, but still fun). As long as you don't own any cats, Lexie is a wonderful dog (OK, I'm biased as I fostered her for several months). She is one of the easiest dogs I've ever trained.

So, get off the couch and take your dog to an event. You just might get hooked.

[Tristan Schmid]

Another fun activity, if your dog likes water, is the Dock Dogs competition. Open to all dogs, Chihuahuas to Great Danes, puppies to seniors, purebred show dogs to the most mixed of mutts, the competition offers both long-jump and retrieval events.

I participated recently with my 9-year-old female mutt Aja, who LOVES jumping into the water anywhere... except, apparently, in front of a crowd. She jumped in once, but that was it. It was still fun, though!

There are activities for virtually anything your dog is good at (except, of course, sleeping on the couch, and eating.)

[Connie Swaim]

I wish I could have seen you and Aja at the event! Water is one thing Batman does not like. I'm hoping that Condor has no such water issues.

[Tristan Schmid]

For better or worse, I posted some photos of Aja and I at this year's Boat, Sport & Travel Show Dock Dogs competition . Aja's no pro dock dog yet (and my dad's no pro photographer, either.) :)