What Dogs Need - Fun Activities!

What Dogs Need

Food

Water

Shelter and Weather Needs

Health Care

Grooming

Exercise

Time with You

Fun

Dogs Just Want To Have Fun!

Page Two

Brittany pointing.

Some activities take advantage of a dog's natural abilities or instinct. Instinct is a behavior, ability, or tendency that your dog is born with. Herding, search and rescue, sledding, tracking, field trials, and hiking all allow your dog to use her instinct to have fun.

Interested in Herding? Go to Trouper's Herding Page to see photos and a video of herding.

Agility is a fun sport that is very popular in many cities. It is an obstacle course for dogs. The dogs get good exercise and can compete in agility events if they are very good. Take a look at Trouper's Agility Page for some photos and a video of agility.

Some people enjoy showing their dogs at Dog Shows. Dogs can be shown for conformation (how the dog looks) and for obedience (how the dog behaves). Winners get brightly-colored ribbons and the opportunity to do something competitive with their dogs.

Junior Showmanship allows children to learn about dog shows and develop their skills at handling dogs.

Girl showing dog.

Flyball is a fun sport that gives your dog the exercise he needs and the fun he deserves. There are flyball groups in many places that will help you to train your dog. Many of these groups form teams that participate in competitive events.

To be a Therapy Dog your dog must have an excellent temperament. Therapy Dogs can work in nursing homes, hospitals, and schools to help make people feel better. You can check out these pages if you are interested in Therapy Dogs:

Therapy Dog Photo Album
Cody's Therapy Dog Journal

Spending time together.
Spending time together is fun!

RUSTY'S
RIDICULOUS
RIDDLES

What do you call a great dog detective?

Sherlock Bones!

Thank you Jemma, age 10, of Johannesburg, South Africa for this riddle!

Here are some good books about Junior Showmanship:

Show Me! A Dog Showing Primer, by D. Caroline Coile, Barrons Educational Series; (January 1997)From an Amazon.com customer: This is an excellent primer for the novice dog exhibitor. It is written so both the younger handler and adult will find it useful. The basics are well covered, and there is additional information on how to solve some of the problems that may occur in the show ring. Overall, it is an excellent resource and I highly recommend it.

Best Junior Handler, by Olejiczak 1997
A book written for Junior Handlers by a junior handler. Anne has been a highly successful Junior Handler competitor for eight years and has qualified six times to compete at Westminster. She and her mother wrote this book together. The lessons are so self-explanatory that even a junior located far away from help and with no access to handling classes could pick up the book and learn to show at a fairly competitive level.