Between the games, demonstrations and vendors, there were so many things for you and your dog to do at PawsAbilities 2009. What was your favorite thing that your and your four-legged friend did together? We would love to read your stories! You can share them by leaving a comment.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the canine fun and entertainment at PawsAbilities 2009! We hope to see you again next year!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
A Sunday of PawsAbilities
Sunday at PawsAbilities was just as jam-packed with canine fun as Saturday. The Main Hall was filled with chatter, barking, laughing and jiggling leashes.
Susquehanna Service Dogs explained clicker training, a clear way to communicate the behaviors you want your dog to exhibit. You use the clicker to pick the behavior and then reinforce that behavior by giving a reward. SSD Tara demonstrated how clicker training works.
Accelerant K-9 Loki and her handler Detective Dennis Woodring showed off Loki's skills in detecting gasoline and other fire accelerants. Because dogs' noses are much more sensitive than humans' noses, they can detect smells more accurately. At a fire scene where gasoline is present, Loki can locate the source 92% of the time. Compare that to people, who can accurately find it 30% of the time.
Broadway came to PawsAbilities again as animal trainer Bill Berloni and Chihuahua star Chico took the stage. Chico, who plays Elle Woods' beloved Chihuahua on Broadway's Legally Blonde The Musical, appeared decked out in a pink rhinestoned shirt - the signature color of Elle Woods. When Bill found Chico in a shelter in Newark, NJ, Chico was a fierce little spitfire who scared even the shelter's guards. After Bill rescued him and brought him into a loving home, Chico transformed into a completely different dog. Now he's the first dog to "bark" lines on Broadway.
New for Sunday was the flyball demonstration by Flyball Dogs Anonymous, and what a blur of energy they brought with them! To a chorus of cheers and barks, the Flyball Dogs raced down their lanes, leaped over the four hurdles, snagged the tennis ball that was launched out of the flyball box and raced back to the finish line. The excitement was so contagious, the dogs watching from outside the ring barked and strained at their leashes, eager to try out flyball for themselves.
The Keystone DockDogs made an even bigger splash as they held their Big Air finals. The winning dog leaped over 25 feet off the dock! We recorded their Big Air finals, and it will be available for you to watch soon.
SSD's own service dogs served as judges for the Great Biscuit Bite-Off! This year's judges were Iris, SSD Journey (one of the Hill Top puppies you may have watched on our Puppy Cam), and SSD Rossi. After taking a guided "sniff through" of the entries, each dog was released to gobble down their favorites. Here are this year's winners of the Biscuit Bite-Off:
First place: Jillian Barr and Scotty's Scones
Second place tie: Mrs. Olson with her Bacon Cheeseburger Biscuits, Christie Avery with her Beefy Bacon Bones
Third place tie: Barbara Kennedy and Kennedy Krispies, Lois Mason and Laurel's Peanut Butter Biscuits
Congratulations to all our contestants!
This year's PawsAbilities was a barking success, and just the thought of next all the PawsAbilities for next year have the dogs' tails wagging in excitement! Thank you to everyone who came out for the fun and to support SSD!
Susquehanna Service Dogs explained clicker training, a clear way to communicate the behaviors you want your dog to exhibit. You use the clicker to pick the behavior and then reinforce that behavior by giving a reward. SSD Tara demonstrated how clicker training works.
Accelerant K-9 Loki and her handler Detective Dennis Woodring showed off Loki's skills in detecting gasoline and other fire accelerants. Because dogs' noses are much more sensitive than humans' noses, they can detect smells more accurately. At a fire scene where gasoline is present, Loki can locate the source 92% of the time. Compare that to people, who can accurately find it 30% of the time.
Broadway came to PawsAbilities again as animal trainer Bill Berloni and Chihuahua star Chico took the stage. Chico, who plays Elle Woods' beloved Chihuahua on Broadway's Legally Blonde The Musical, appeared decked out in a pink rhinestoned shirt - the signature color of Elle Woods. When Bill found Chico in a shelter in Newark, NJ, Chico was a fierce little spitfire who scared even the shelter's guards. After Bill rescued him and brought him into a loving home, Chico transformed into a completely different dog. Now he's the first dog to "bark" lines on Broadway.
New for Sunday was the flyball demonstration by Flyball Dogs Anonymous, and what a blur of energy they brought with them! To a chorus of cheers and barks, the Flyball Dogs raced down their lanes, leaped over the four hurdles, snagged the tennis ball that was launched out of the flyball box and raced back to the finish line. The excitement was so contagious, the dogs watching from outside the ring barked and strained at their leashes, eager to try out flyball for themselves.
The Keystone DockDogs made an even bigger splash as they held their Big Air finals. The winning dog leaped over 25 feet off the dock! We recorded their Big Air finals, and it will be available for you to watch soon.
SSD's own service dogs served as judges for the Great Biscuit Bite-Off! This year's judges were Iris, SSD Journey (one of the Hill Top puppies you may have watched on our Puppy Cam), and SSD Rossi. After taking a guided "sniff through" of the entries, each dog was released to gobble down their favorites. Here are this year's winners of the Biscuit Bite-Off:
First place: Jillian Barr and Scotty's Scones
Second place tie: Mrs. Olson with her Bacon Cheeseburger Biscuits, Christie Avery with her Beefy Bacon Bones
Third place tie: Barbara Kennedy and Kennedy Krispies, Lois Mason and Laurel's Peanut Butter Biscuits
Congratulations to all our contestants!
This year's PawsAbilities was a barking success, and just the thought of next all the PawsAbilities for next year have the dogs' tails wagging in excitement! Thank you to everyone who came out for the fun and to support SSD!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
A Snapshot of PawsAbilities, Day 1
At any one time during PawsAbilities' celebration of man's best friend, you can find a number of activities going on. With 17 rings of canine activities and over 50 vendor booths, not to mention the Paw Draw, Keystone DockDogs and Rally-O, you have plenty to choose from.
Here's a brief snapsnot of one hour of PawsAbilities.
In Demo Ring #16, the Summit Search and Rescue bloodhounds Apache and Merit demonstrate their unique abilities to follow any scent. These dogs are built for sniffing - every part of their body functions to enhance their ability to catch a scent and follow it. Their long ears, which dangle to their nose, help stir up the scent and fan it toward their nose as they're tracking. Inside their nose, bloodhounds have 200 million cells to detect smells - compare that to the 5 million cells in a human nose! Those wrinkles and flaps of skin that are so distinctive help them wiggle loose from brush and briars, and their thickly padded feet allow them to walk long distances in pursuit of a scent. During the presentation, Apache and Merit demonstrated their tracking skills, following the scent of a young volunteer around the ring. They followed the scent right to where she was hidden!
Demo Ring #14: The Appalachian Air Canines showed their frisbee skills. Many of the border collies of this group were rescued from shelters. Now their seemingly boundless energy is directed into the highly active sport of frisbee. In fact, their energetic natures makes them extremely good at frisbee. The Air Canine demonstrated some of the frisbee games they play every day. One of them is called the Dartboard Game. The handler tosses a frisbee and the dogs try to catch it. What makes it a "dartboard" game? The mat has different colored rings, like a dartboard, and the dogs must land in the "bulls-eye" after catching the frisbee. The closer to the bulls-eye they land, the more points they score.
At the end of the Main Hall, the Keystone DockDogs defy gravity as they catapult themselves off a dock into a pool, leap as far as possible. Some of the dogs seemed to hover in the air before splashing into the water. To get the dogs excited and to encourage them to leap into the water, handlers throw the dog's favorite toy into the pool. As one dog made the big leap, he snagged his toy right out of the air - mid-leap - and splashed into the pool with the toy firmly clamped in his mouth. It was quite a sight to see!
On the stage, SSD Gideon demonstrated the skills of a service dog. He retrieved a box of mac 'n' cheese, delicately picked up a pair of sunglasses, and picked up a pen, ladle and coffee mug. He even slipped under a chair to retrieve a mitten - without upsetting the chair. Many of the service dogs' skills bring a sense of safety and security to the individuals they serve. SSD Gideon can locate a cordless phone, a skill that makes individuals feel much more secure in their independence. They know that their service dog can always retrieve the phone if they need to call for assistance. SSD Gideon also demonstrated how he can shop, giving the payment to the store clerk, accepting the purchases and taking any change.
In Ring #9, pooches shimmied under the limbo stick in the Dog Olympics Doggy Limbo. With the bar down to mere inches above the ground, only the smallest dogs were squeezing underneath.
In an open space near the rings, a tired dog stretches out on the cool cement floor and gets a belly rub. Just a little piece of doggy bliss after a long morning of games and fun.
This was just a brief snapshot of some of the activities going on at any one time during the day. To truly experience the canine activity, come to PawsAbilities on Sunday. We have another impressive line-up of activities: more Keystone DockDogs, Olympic games, and demonstrations. New for Sunday will be Flyball Dogs Anonymous and the Great Biscuit Bite-Off, judged by our very own service dogs!
Here's a brief snapsnot of one hour of PawsAbilities.
In Demo Ring #16, the Summit Search and Rescue bloodhounds Apache and Merit demonstrate their unique abilities to follow any scent. These dogs are built for sniffing - every part of their body functions to enhance their ability to catch a scent and follow it. Their long ears, which dangle to their nose, help stir up the scent and fan it toward their nose as they're tracking. Inside their nose, bloodhounds have 200 million cells to detect smells - compare that to the 5 million cells in a human nose! Those wrinkles and flaps of skin that are so distinctive help them wiggle loose from brush and briars, and their thickly padded feet allow them to walk long distances in pursuit of a scent. During the presentation, Apache and Merit demonstrated their tracking skills, following the scent of a young volunteer around the ring. They followed the scent right to where she was hidden!
Demo Ring #14: The Appalachian Air Canines showed their frisbee skills. Many of the border collies of this group were rescued from shelters. Now their seemingly boundless energy is directed into the highly active sport of frisbee. In fact, their energetic natures makes them extremely good at frisbee. The Air Canine demonstrated some of the frisbee games they play every day. One of them is called the Dartboard Game. The handler tosses a frisbee and the dogs try to catch it. What makes it a "dartboard" game? The mat has different colored rings, like a dartboard, and the dogs must land in the "bulls-eye" after catching the frisbee. The closer to the bulls-eye they land, the more points they score.
At the end of the Main Hall, the Keystone DockDogs defy gravity as they catapult themselves off a dock into a pool, leap as far as possible. Some of the dogs seemed to hover in the air before splashing into the water. To get the dogs excited and to encourage them to leap into the water, handlers throw the dog's favorite toy into the pool. As one dog made the big leap, he snagged his toy right out of the air - mid-leap - and splashed into the pool with the toy firmly clamped in his mouth. It was quite a sight to see!
On the stage, SSD Gideon demonstrated the skills of a service dog. He retrieved a box of mac 'n' cheese, delicately picked up a pair of sunglasses, and picked up a pen, ladle and coffee mug. He even slipped under a chair to retrieve a mitten - without upsetting the chair. Many of the service dogs' skills bring a sense of safety and security to the individuals they serve. SSD Gideon can locate a cordless phone, a skill that makes individuals feel much more secure in their independence. They know that their service dog can always retrieve the phone if they need to call for assistance. SSD Gideon also demonstrated how he can shop, giving the payment to the store clerk, accepting the purchases and taking any change.
In Ring #9, pooches shimmied under the limbo stick in the Dog Olympics Doggy Limbo. With the bar down to mere inches above the ground, only the smallest dogs were squeezing underneath.
In an open space near the rings, a tired dog stretches out on the cool cement floor and gets a belly rub. Just a little piece of doggy bliss after a long morning of games and fun.
This was just a brief snapshot of some of the activities going on at any one time during the day. To truly experience the canine activity, come to PawsAbilities on Sunday. We have another impressive line-up of activities: more Keystone DockDogs, Olympic games, and demonstrations. New for Sunday will be Flyball Dogs Anonymous and the Great Biscuit Bite-Off, judged by our very own service dogs!
Making a Splash!
The Keystone DockDogs always make a splash at PawsAbilities, and now they're doing it live! You can watch them leap off the dock, jump as high as they can, and swim with the speed to rival any canine Olympian. Visit www.pawsabilities.net/live to see these dogs soar!
Coming up on the PawsAbilities Stage...
On the stage at 1 p.m. will be the Dog Scouts of America. You can watch it at www.pawsabilities.net/live.
Right at Home on Stage
Bill Berloni, the famous animal trainer who has trained dogs, cats and other animals for Broadway, movies and television, is taking the stage with Chico the Chihuahua star from Legally Blonde The Musical.
Watch them at 11:30 a.m. as they share their experiences on Broadway. Bill is also talking about his latest book, Broadway Tails, about the animal talent he has "discovered" and brought to the limelight.
www.pawsabilities.net/live
Watch them at 11:30 a.m. as they share their experiences on Broadway. Bill is also talking about his latest book, Broadway Tails, about the animal talent he has "discovered" and brought to the limelight.
www.pawsabilities.net/live
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