The next time you’re perusing the pet aisles at Target, be sure to take a mental picture of the beagle featured on both Target brand and Boots & Barkley dog beds. When you’re strolling through your neighborhood, watch out for the Shetland sheepdogs practicing their agility skills. Going for a dip in Parker’s Lake? You might run into Lucy, a Portuguese water dog, training for her next water trials competition. And, if you have a knack for volunteering, be sure to say hello to our furry friends at the Golden Valley Humane Society.
Even though their interests vary, all of these talented canines make their homes right here in Plymouth, and their owners couldn’t have asked for better companions. “At the end of the day they’re just dogs, and that’s why we love them,” says Maureen Bain, owner of the aforementioned beagle model.
Model Behavior
While she admits the breed can be stubborn, Bain says that her beagle Bridget will do just about anything for food. That comes in handy when developing one of Bridget’s many hidden talents, which include agility, tracking and obedience training. Agility tends to be tricky for Bridget since beagles have an inherent desire to constantly follow scents with their snouts to the ground. All things considered, Bridget has done well in the handful of competitions she’s tried so far and has been reaping the benefits of training: extra stimulation, motivation to reach a goal and forming a close bond with her owner. Plus, it gets them outdoors together. “It’s really good exercise for your dog and for you,” Bain says.
A proud recipient of the Canine Good Citizen’s Certificate (an award given for consistent and impeccable manners by the American Kennel Club), Bridget has been busy mastering obedience lessons so she can visit local nursing homes to provide informal therapy for patients. Bain has been assisting trainers at the Golden Valley Humane Society (763.522.4325) for nearly 10 years and implements the practices taught in the classes at home with her dog. Bridget’s sweet temperament also helps her book modeling gigs with Target, CVS, Purina and others. “Your dog has to have a really good foundation in obedience to do that,” Bain says.
A typical ad photo shoot lasts about two hours, and Bridget has been known to grace the packaging of dog beds, don doggie Halloween costumes and more. One recent assignment included shooting still photographs and an accompanying video segment, complete with a feline sidekick, that lasted more than seven hours. Most of all, Bain is just happy to have such loving additions to her family (she also owns a cat, Baby) at home in Plymouth. “They’re a joy to have in our family,” she says.
Wild About Water
Although she was apprehensive about trying the sport at first, Eileen Roston, a professional dog trainer, began training to compete in water trials with her dog Lucy several years ago. Water trials are a natural fit for Lucy, a 5-year-old Portuguese water dog, as the breed is known for its assistance to fishermen with tasks like retrieving lost tackle and herding fish into their nets. Lucy passed the Junior Water Dog (beginner) test last year and has three more levels to complete as she aspires to become a Courier Water Dog. Training can be rigorous, especially when dogs are required to swim as far as 70 feet out from shore or between boats acting as a courier, but Lucy takes it all in stride (or stroke, as the case may be). You’re likely to find the pair practicing in Plymouth’s lakes in preparation for the formal trials in Coon Rapids this July.
Lucy dominates in these events not only because it’s what she was bred for, but because Roston co-owns Puppy Good Start (763.544.9721), a training and obedience center in Plymouth for dogs as young as eight weeks. Roston and Lucy have been active in obedience and agility classes, which have taught them to work as a team and to listen and respond to each other. “It really helps you make a connection with your dog,” she says.
Roston suggests taking advantage of the great weather to tire out your pets before bedtime. “This way, your pet isn’t getting into trouble at home. They’re not eating up the couch cushions,” says Roston, of what often happens when a dog has too much pent up energy.
Top-notch Trainer
Obedience instructor Mona Elder began working part-time at Plymouth-based Gehrman Animal Hospital (763.479.1550) as a veterinary assistant when she moved to the Twin Cities a decade ago. The animal hospital had offered obedience classes to its clients years ago, but had yet to find a new approach. Elder arrived full of ideas and began to answer behavioral questions and other concerns for pet owners in the clinic. She turned that into a basic obedience training class, called Take the Lead Dog Training, eight years ago in August; Elder has had so much success that she expanded her offerings to include a puppy kindergarten class and a puppy playtime for those with canines younger than 5 months. Even though her classes are mostly for Gehrman clients, Elder is more than happy to provide referrals and recommendations for other obedience classes in the area.
Elder also has worked as a client services coordinator at Can Do Canines (formerly called Hearing and Service Dogs of Minnesota) in New Hope since March 2003 (763.331.3000). The name of the organization was recently changed to reflect the larger scope of clientele it serves, including those who struggle with seizures, Type 1 diabetes, children with autism and more. In this position, Elder helps clients with various disabilities adjust to getting their service dog. Preparation begins in the office, where Elder fosters a warm environment so that the dogs can adjust to the person and vice versa. The process, which typically takes two to four months, ends with training in the natural surroundings of the client’s home.
With a lot on her plate at Gehrman and Can Do Canines, Elder says it’s her passion for the bond between dogs and their owners that keeps her dedicated to her work. “It’s my love of being able to help people through their dogs and make their lives easier with a well-behaved pet that has kept me going,” she says.
Best in Show
It all started years ago when Plymouth residents Phil and Cindy Rustad wanted to help their dogs improve their household behavior. At various times they’ve owned Brittany and Irish setters and a total of six Shetland sheepdogs. “Most people get involved in training classes because they want their dog to be a better member of their family,” Phil Rustad says. “Then 25 years later you’re flying to the Bahamas to judge dog shows.”
After passing beginner, intermediate and novice classes with their dogs, as well as showing their Shelties in conformation, they began to study and train to become judges. The Rustads are American Kennel Club (AKC), Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) and Bahamas Kennel Club (BKC) certified obedience judges for more than a decade. Rustad calls the obedience trials a “team sport” because, first and foremost, he’s looking for handler-dog duos that work well as a team. With a possible score of 200 points and a required 170 to pass (competitors must also earn more than half of the possible points in each exercise to continue), competitors are judged on sitting and recall exercises, running, turns and more. “We’re looking at performance and behavior, rather than just making it a beauty pageant,” Rustad says.
While a perfect score is rare, Rustad has had the pleasure of awarding three as a judge and has received many high marks himself (199.5!). No matter the outcome, the most rewarding part of every competition is that each handler leaves with a prize: his or her best friend.
Glossary
Your quick reference guide to activities to try with your dogs.
Agility: As the handler runs alongside to give directions, dogs must race through an obstacle course that includes things like tunnels and teeter-totters with precision, care and speed.
Carting: Big breeds like Saint Bernards and Newfoundlands test their strength by pulling carts that contain loads many times the weight of the dog. This could come in handy in case you get stuck in a snowbank next winter!
Conformation: The bread and butter of the American Kennel Club, conformation is the “beauty pageant” aspect of dog showing. Flawless purebred dogs are groomed to the nines and judged against a theoretical standard of perfection.
Field: With the ultimate goal of becoming a Master Hunter, field work trains your dog to be a good hunting retriever. It might be useful for bringing in the newspaper in the morning, too!
Flyball: This relay race for teams of four was invented in the late 1970s. Flyball requires dogs to jump over hurdles on a 51-foot track and step on a springboard to release a tennis ball, which the dog must catch and return to the starting line so that the next dog can begin.
Herding: For centuries, dogs have been protecting and controlling flocks of sheep, cattle and more. In herding trials, dogs work well away from the shepherd, who whistles the command, to drive the flock through a series of gates and ultimately into a pen.
Lure Coursing: Sight hounds, like whippets, greyhounds and Afghans, chase a bunny across a field—nowadays, the lure is a mechanical rabbit on a track that is programmed to make lightning fast turns for the agile dogs to follow.
Obedience: Standard obedience exercises should be performed with accuracy and include heeling, retrieving (in higher levels), staying and more. Most people begin obedience training with new puppies to make their dog a well-mannered addition to the family.
Tracking: Canines follow their noses to track down specific scents on closed training courses or even as real-life search and rescue dogs.
Water trials: Beginning in 1991, water dog classes enhance the innate skills, like retrieving and herding, already found in particular breeds. Competitions are held at various levels to showcase the dogs’ abilities to retrieve a dummy, swim with their handler, deliver messages between boats and more.
