Sometimes we have podengo meetings with a special theme. It may be that we organize a ”try on day” with the idea that, in addition to having fun together, trying an activity before you know if you want to sign up for a course. Here you can see examples of some of the theme meetings we have organized, and if you scroll down you can read more about them. There will be more theme meetings in the future.
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Exhibition training (ring training)
For those who are a little curious but inexperienced in dogshows, we have arranged several meetings with this theme. The last time was out at Rosersberg castle where Annika Björkman, Björkbyden’s kennel, together with Eva Mittler held a ring training for podengo friends. Annika, who is an authorized ring secretary, and Eva, explained the basics, i.e. how to go in the ring, how to show the dog to the judge, what happens on the table, what the judge says and does, what do all the colored patches and rosettes that are shown mean, and so on. There was also practical training where everyone had to try walking in the ring and show their dog on the table with help of Annika. A really educational and enjoyable day that we hope made those who have not exhibited before now feel safe to show their dog in the ring!
Activity walk
This is something that our activity leader Eva Mittler is really good at. During an activity walk, you give the dog both exercise, stimulation, balance training and strengthened self-confidence. Eva’s purpose is to give the participants tips on how to easily activate the dog during the walks, and you can actually put in whatever moments you want depending on what you find along the walk. Here are some suggestions.
Search for candy in tree trunks, where you put small pieces of candy in the bark of the trees so that the dog can search both high and low. Balance on fallen trees, Cavaletti, sticks on the ground to go over without touching them. The bench, the dog has its front paws on the bench and its hind paws on the hill and must move sideways back and forth. The stone, where the dog must jump up and then crawl down, as well as a moment where it must back up onto the stone. Dog meeting, all participants stand in a row with their dogs and one by one can then go slalom between the teams. Here, focus is trained and to meet without gruff. Search for thrown candy, is the exercise the dogs think is the most fun and a good reward at the end. The reward for the owners, apart from getting a happy and tired dog home, was to enjoy a good lunch in the lovely nature.
Track work
Podengos love to work with their noses, so we have organized different ”try on” variants of tracking activity. An example is Person tracking, where Susanne Pärson from Krullets kennel taught us the basics and showed us how to lay tracks, in this case with the dog’s favorite toy at the end of the track. It was so much fun to see how talented both dogs and owners were, here Sussie certainly sparked an interest. So tracking in various forms, we have continued to organize courses in together with various partners. You can read more about it under the Activities tab.
The Dog track
Hunderbanan (The dog track) in Norrtälje is built in a beautiful forest environment. It is a course with different stations that require focus, sometimes balance and courage, from the dog. The idea is to strengthen the dog’s self-confidence and to give the dog owner some exercises to take home with him in everyday life. We have booked the track several times just for Podengo Friends and it has been a great turnout. It is both exciting and fun to see the dogs make their way through the stations, sometimes with some hesitation but with the support of their owners. At some stations, we have helped to support and entice each other’s dogs to dare to take the step, and it is not without us owners becoming really proud of our furry ones. A happy group of podengo friends with dogs who had fun days on the course.
Study visit to the Hundstallet, a big shelter in Stockholm
How does it work at the shelter? Where do the dogs come from? Can you volunteer there, or be on call at the weekends? On this day, we had booked a study visit at Hundstallet, exclusively for Podengo Friends. Petter, dog psychologist and problem dog investigator, was then one of the people in charge at the stable and received us for an afternoon and told us about the business. In addition to all the information we received during a nice coffee break, we were also shown around the premises and got to visit the dog stables. A really interesting study visit that ended with us donating money to the business, and that most of us probably became members/donors.
Avtivity day in a dog hall
Theme meeting Dog activities was sponsored by Krullet’s kennel, which invited you to a really fun day of activities in Haninge Dog Hall. Susanne Pärson, who is a trained instructor in both agility and rally obedience, showed us the basics of these and then we all practice. There was a lot of laughter at some moments, such as when a owner crawled deep into the tunnel to meet his somewhat hesitant podengo that Susanne so softly and patiently lured into the other end of the tunnel. It was also fun to see the pride and joy of both the dogs and the owners when you succeeded in the moments that the dog initially thought were scary. That it was a highly appreciated day of activities was noticed by the large number of participants who came to the meeting. Many thanks Åke and Susanne, Krullets kennel, for sponsored a great day!
