Great Temperaments with Working Drive!
Activities with my Swissys
As I mentioned on my About Me page, I wanted dogs that could do everything they were bred to do. My dogs actively train (and often compete and participate) in the following activities:
Conformation Shows: Grainger, River, and Jasper are finished owner-handled AKC Champions, and Logan and Mischke are being shown selectively. Obedience/Rally Trials: Grainger has a CD and an RE, and we've started some CDX training.
Drafting Trials: Grainger has both his single and his novice brace and his open single and open brace titles with Keygan, his father, as pictured below.
Weight Pull Events: Grainger has a WWDX title in weight pull; River and Jasper pull in practice pulls
Herding: both Grainger and Oakley have been herding instinct tested and passed with flying colors. I need to find some sheep to play with to work on these skills.
Pack Dog Hiking: Grainger has three of the four legs needed for his NWPD; Oakley proudly wears her pack on walks and hikes for fun
We have also participated in agility lessons, tracking lessons, and anything else we come across that might be fun for the dogs.
Conformation Shows: Grainger, River, and Jasper are finished owner-handled AKC Champions, and Logan and Mischke are being shown selectively. Obedience/Rally Trials: Grainger has a CD and an RE, and we've started some CDX training.
Drafting Trials: Grainger has both his single and his novice brace and his open single and open brace titles with Keygan, his father, as pictured below.
Weight Pull Events: Grainger has a WWDX title in weight pull; River and Jasper pull in practice pulls
Herding: both Grainger and Oakley have been herding instinct tested and passed with flying colors. I need to find some sheep to play with to work on these skills.
Pack Dog Hiking: Grainger has three of the four legs needed for his NWPD; Oakley proudly wears her pack on walks and hikes for fun
We have also participated in agility lessons, tracking lessons, and anything else we come across that might be fun for the dogs.
Special Events
Delivering Chips and Scanners to Help Pets in North Carolina!
On September 15, 2010, Grainger pulled his cart full of microchips and scanners into the plaza next to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture building in downtown Raleigh, did a short drafting demonstration, and met all sorts of important people who make the State Animal Response Teams possible. We hope that North Carolina won't face a disaster any time soon, but we definitely feel better knowing the teams will be manned with microchips and universal scanners - all donated by AKC CAR.
News coverage, including a few barks from Grainger - NC Public Radio with Laura Leslie, WUNC
From the press release:
Raleigh, NC --To assist with future North Carolina disaster relief efforts, AKC Companion Animal Recovery has donated eighty boxes of AKC CAR pet microchips and forty ProScan700 universal microchip scanners, a $32,800 value, to the North Carolina State Animal Response Team (NC SART). These microchips and scanners will greatly increase the likelihood that the pets of North Carolina will be reunited with their owners in an emergency situation or in the event that disaster strikes.
NC SART will stock the microchips and scanners in the Companion Animal Mobile Equipment Trailers (CAMETs) deployed in forty North Carolina counties. These multi-use, easily deployable CAMETs provide immediate shelter during disasters and contain items such as crates, first aid kits, power cords, dog bowls and more. Since their creation, however, these trailers have lacked microchipping supplies.
News coverage, including a few barks from Grainger - NC Public Radio with Laura Leslie, WUNC
From the press release:
Raleigh, NC --To assist with future North Carolina disaster relief efforts, AKC Companion Animal Recovery has donated eighty boxes of AKC CAR pet microchips and forty ProScan700 universal microchip scanners, a $32,800 value, to the North Carolina State Animal Response Team (NC SART). These microchips and scanners will greatly increase the likelihood that the pets of North Carolina will be reunited with their owners in an emergency situation or in the event that disaster strikes.
NC SART will stock the microchips and scanners in the Companion Animal Mobile Equipment Trailers (CAMETs) deployed in forty North Carolina counties. These multi-use, easily deployable CAMETs provide immediate shelter during disasters and contain items such as crates, first aid kits, power cords, dog bowls and more. Since their creation, however, these trailers have lacked microchipping supplies.
Raleigh, NC Christmas Parade 2009
Grainger represented Swissys in the AKC walking team's Meet the Breeds group - he even made the news in his cart carrying Christmas Presents!