Canine

Participants train and care for a dog, learning obedience, grooming, health care, responsible ownership, and effective handling skills.

First year focuses on obedience, following years are tailored to member interest and skill level.

There is a great deal of flexibility for what the project learns, it depends on the group.

The canine does not need to be a puppy, any age of canine can participate provided the project leader deems it safe in a group of other dogs and is fully vaccinated.

This project typically meets every 2 weeks for one hour.

The Achievement Day for this takes place at Achievement Day when members demonstrate the skills of the handler/canine team and are judged.

2025-26 SUCESSES

This year we had a mix of Junior and Intermediate canine teams.

The Junior handlers brought a variety of dogs to the project including a farm dog that had not been previously trained, a sweet pup with some seriously short legs and a healthy appetite, a handsome rottie that wanted love more than treats, and a Livestock Guardian Dog that was pretty sure staying on the farm was a better idea than Canine project meetings. Each team had so much success! They all completed a combination obdience/rally/trick course with 10 or more skills that were developed in the course of the year. Way to go teams!

The Intermediate teams devoted themselves to getting some international titles! Both Ayla/Scotch and Kyla/Tessa earned their Novice, Intermediate and Advanced Trick Dog titles through Do More With Your Dog! Both teams have also been working on some draft dog skills - learning how to safely use a dog to pull a cart. Kyla & Tessa were a hit with their mobile snack cart at Achievement Day!

Ayla & Scotch

Kyla & Tessa

Rally Courses

Kyla & Tessa

This course is a combination of obedience, trick dog and agility. Some of the skills are levelled up from first year. For example, learning to do the tunnel takes some practice, but putting a curve in it makes it more challenging for the dog because it feels riskier when the dog cannot see the opening at the end of the tunnel. This team is so connected, Tessa and Kyla are joined at the hip and totally in sync when they are training.

Ayla & Scotch

This course added some skills that were not practiced in project meetings, but trained independantly at home, such as Secret (the dog "whispers" a secret into the handler's ear) and the balance ball. Getting Scotch to willingly stand on a flexible surface with his feet very close together was challenging, but yummy treats were this trainer's best bet!

Jessie & Dottie

Completing this pattern showed incredible growth for this team. Dottie has the shortest little legs and yet she still managed to walk through the ladder and cross the see saw! This team even figured out how to use a treat lure without losing any fingers!

Josephine & Hank

This pattern had these 2 teams stretching their skills all year. Josephine had to figure out what motived Hank because he is the rare dog that wasn't interested in treats. It took a while, but once she knew that Hank needed a cheerleader and all the praise he could get, they were off and running, err..... cheering!

Micalah & Lola

Lola is a farm dog and had never really had much for previous training so Micalah had to start at the basics. Unlike Hank, Lola is very food motivated and would do darn near anything for the homemade liver treats Micalah made for her, especially if it involved sitting! It took Lola a while to figure out that sitting wasn't an automatic treat reward, but once she did, the team was confident and grew their skills quickly!

Jasper & Little Rex

This team excelled at the Lakedale Arena training days. Little Rex is actually a decidedly not little Livestock Guardian Dog and he did better in larger spaces with fewer other dogs around him. Jasper and Little Rex trained a great deal at home and updated the project members with videos of their progress. At Achievement Day, instead of stressing Little Rex out, Jasper did a video of their work and provided all the muscle for the Rally Pattern changes during the Showcase Supper and at Achievement Day. Thank you for all of your quick changeovers Jasper!

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