As you know, Riley and I have been invited to compete in the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge. I am very excited and really want us to do our very best and have a great time. I would love for us to be included in the televised portion of the event. As you can see above, Riley is very stressed.... NOT!
If you are in Atlanta and wish to attend, the event will be held at the Atlanta Centennial Olympic Park on April 2nd at 11:00 AM. I believe attendance is free, but you may have to pay for parking. The event includes agility, Jack Russell hurdle racing, dock jumping, weave pole challenge, and Frisbee. Riley will be doing agility and the weave pole challenge.
For those outside of Atlanta, I believe you can watch live streaming of the event at Bark Network (Click Here). It begins at 11 AM Eastern Standard Time.
I also plan to bring Riley to the event HUNGRY. I normally suggest bringing hungry greyhounds to the classes I teach, but I never implement it with my own greyhounds because they are always hungry... even after meals. But for this event, I am going to heed my own advice. On Thursday, Stephen is going to grill Riley (and himself) a steak so I have super high value treats that Riley does not normally get.
Lastly, the only other preparation to make was to practice the weave pole challenge. It is basically a race to see which dog can weave 30 weave poles down and back the fastest. Riley has only ever done 12 poles at a time so I created the 18 weave pole challenge with what I had. I was pleasantly surprised that she seemed to really have fun and get faster and faster as she went.
There is really not much I can do in preparation other than have a good plan for managing Riley at the event. I plan to have Stephen drop me off with her crate and things. I will check out the area and set up her crate while Stephen stays with Riley in the car. Then I will go back to get Riley and can hurry her back to the crating area. Since she is occasionally "weird" about things, I want to avoid being casual, getting lost, or just hanging out when she is with me. Outside of her crate, I want her to be happy, ready to work and too busy to be soaking in sights, sounds, and smells. Inside her crate, I want her to chill out like she normally does.
The best part is that Friday is a practice day. Its an excellent opportunity to carefully manage Riley so she has a great time and then she will likely have the same expectation when she arrives on Saturday.
I also plan to bring Riley to the event HUNGRY. I normally suggest bringing hungry greyhounds to the classes I teach, but I never implement it with my own greyhounds because they are always hungry... even after meals. But for this event, I am going to heed my own advice. On Thursday, Stephen is going to grill Riley (and himself) a steak so I have super high value treats that Riley does not normally get.
Mmmmm.... canned dog food jackpot. Today, I am planning to work on our turn around.
