Last weekend we went up to Phoenix for the Dog Days of Summer Finale Party and went to Barktoberfest. Kronos came along by himself to turn his training class into real world experience (since we were missing class that morning) and to celebrate his birthday a little early. While we don’t know his exact birthday for sure since he was born as a stray, we’ve guesstimated his birthday and decided on October 18th. Stay tuned for a special birthday post for his birthday tomorrow! Last year we had a commentathon and donated to Family Promise to help homeless humans as part of his birthday celebration.
He had a ton of fun and was a wonderful little gentleman. The event was packed with people and dogs! Kronos walked through the Agility course and he did all of the obstacles although he really wanted to go swim in the pond nearby and was distracted by that. One of the booths had beautiful collars and leads that were incredible prices which went to benefit one of the rescue groups so we got a few for Kronos for his birthday present. It was also very convenient to have him there to try the collars on and make sure they fit nicely. Next year we’ll definitely be going back to get some for Bella and Terra! When it got warm we got some snow cones and ice to cool down.
We met some new friends and saw some of our old friends. Kronos tried the Lure Coursing and he did excellent when the lure was actually kept right in front of him just out of his reach. Kronos did a few of his tricks in the trick contest and he tried bobbing for bones although he was more thrilled with snorkeling and just splashing in the water than retrieving the treats.
Kronos accepted gentle petting from some strangers and we even saw one of the kids from the Phoenix Pet Expo who had played Frisbee with Bella. She thought he was the same Heeler, but I let her know Bella was his sister. The little girl was super sweet and she asked if she could give Kronos a treat. He waited patiently while she unwrapped the chew and though he was a little pushy with sniffing when she gave it to him, he didn’t snatch it from her or run away or anything. I would definitely say Kronos’s training classes have been helping. He was much more calm and relaxed than I’ve seen him be at an event since he was in the fearless and bold puppy stage and crazy and nervous adolescent who didn’t know how to settle or be still if we stopped moving. I’m very much looking forward to attending more doggie events together especially if he’s as wonderfully behaved as he was at Barktoberfest. The next challenge will be working up to attending events with multiple dogs! Two is most of the times doable (mainly if Bella is one of the two), but we’re still working up to hopefully all three.
Do you enjoy taking your dog(s) to events or attending dog events too?
