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Please let Jill know if you can help. Thank you.
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K9 Acres News
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Cedar Rapids Parks and Recreation informs us that the new dog park is seeded and they are now waiting patiently for enough rain to get it going. They are also deciding which trees to plant this
fall as well as what benches to install.
Unfortunately, the park is unlikely to open this fall because the grass needs a chance to establish itself before dogs are allowed to run. If we get on the grass before it's ready and kill it, the park opening will be delayed that much longer. Thank you for your patience.
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Thornberry named to top 10 dog parks in the country
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Dogster, an award-winning online magazine, recently named Iowa City's first dog park to its list of "10 Amazing Dog Parks You Need to See in Your Lifetime." The list, compiled by writer, media contributor, and presenter Carol Bryant, was based on 20 years of traveling with her dogs and discovering those special places across the country that go above and beyond in their efforts to involve and engage canines.
Read More
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Chaining News
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The news articles on this site illustrate the dangers chained dogs pose to the community. Children across the country have recently been killed and seriously injured by chained dogs. You will also see many stories of animal cruelty and neglect related to chaining. These stories should convince people that chaining is a common form of animal cruelty that needs to be stopped. Also, chained dogs are often a sign of other illegal activities such as dog fighting and drugs. |
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Deciding When a Pet Has Suffered Enough
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ODY died peacefully last year, Nov. 29. He was 14 and a half. Truth be told, Ody didn't just die. I killed him. I paid a vet to come to my house and inject a chemical solution into a vein in Ody's back leg.
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K9Splash! Report
 Although this summer will go down in history books for the drought, K9COLA will remember it for the rain. As luck would have it, one of the few days it decided to rain this summer was on August 26, the second day of K9Splash!. The event drew 507 dogs and 937 people to Bever Park, a respectable turnout. Although attendance, pre-registrations, registrations, and cash sponsorships were down, in-kind donations were up over 300%. With these included, the revenue for the event was $14, 627.96, which will be shared by the City of Cedar Rapids Parks and Recreation Department and K9COLA. In addition, 565 hours were volunteered during the two-day event, with a value of $12,311.35! Thank you so much to our volunteers, who braved the weather and donated their time and talents to our cause. Special thanks go out to the K9Splash! Committee: Marie Appel, Kelly Ennis, Kate Getty, Steve Sandstrom, Jill Rowe and Carolyn Hamilton (City Aquatics Manager). They spent countless hours in making this event happen. The committee learned a few more things this year and they look forward to making next year even more fun and exciting. If you would be interested in donating your time to help put on the best event of the summer, please email Marie at marie@k9cola.org. Planning begins in January. Thank you again, volunteers! |
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Trash Volunteers Needed
Hello Everyone! It has been a while, so I hope everyone is doing well! Sadly, it is starting to cool down outside which means our summer is almost gone. However, the weather is still nice for people to take their dogs to the park.
We need people mid-week to help collect trash bags. Is anyone available for the month of October? You can take one week, or several: it is up to you. After October we will schedule weekends only until the weather gets warm again.
Who wants to help? Please email me. Thanks in advance guys! Jill :) volunteer@k9cola.org Mid-Week:
* October 10, 17, 24, 31
Weekends: * November 3-4, 10-11, 17-18, 24-25 * December 1-2, 8-9, 15-116, 22-23, 29-30 |
 Your Dog's Nose Knows
By Jo Pearson
Part 1 of a 2-Part Series Local interest is building fast for a new dog sport called "K9 Nose Work" (r). Any dog can play, no matter what size, breed, or age, as long a it has a nose. Even reactive dogs and dogs with aggression problems can play! I've been working with my three dogs (Chloe, age 13; Sherman, age 3-1/2; and Keeper, age 1), and my old gal Chloe is my Rock Star. She isn't so good at running anymore, and her hearing isn't as good as it once was, but her nose is as fine as it's ever been and we have had so much fun finding something else we can do together since she retired from flyball. In nose work, your dog basically learns that not everything requires your permission. There are no commands; you aren't allowed to correct your dog; no saying "no!" or "leave it!" Your dog gets to do what it was born to do: smell and sniff, and -- wonder of wonder! - get rewarded for that. When dogs figure out what's going on (which takes maybe five minutes), they are astonished. "I can get REWARDED for finding FOOD?" And then the fun begins. "Training" is pretty simple; mostly you let your dog be the guide. It's similar to how dogs are trained for things like drug detection, bomb detection, and the training for cadaver dogs, but this is just for fun. You start with maybe six empty boxes scattered around on the floor. Put some nice stinky treats in one of them, then, let your dog come in and sniff. As soon as it finds the treats, reward with an enthusiastic "good dog!" and start dropping more treats into the box. "Glorious! I find treats and more treats magically drop from heaven."
Over time, as your dog progresses, you move the treats outside the box, and then later you can start hiding treats on bookshelves and chairs and coffee tables. Eventually, you begin to pair the treats with an odor: there are several in the nose work competitions, but the first one is birch (competitions use essential oils). Once you introduce odor, you ALWAYS pair the food treat with the odor; ALWAYS reward your dog when it finds the hides, and reward as close to the hide as possible. Eventually, when your dog is really good at the paired hidings, you progress to hiding just odor, continuing to reward with food when the dog finds the hide, lots of food and praise right at the source. Competitions include doing interior searches (inside a room), exterior searches (outside), and vehicle searches. Dogs progress from birch to clove and then to anise. There are several levels of competition and titles if you are interested in doing that. Alternatively, you can work indefinitely with your dog, doing hides at home, in parks, in parking lots, always finding new places, and just having fun together. The first step if you compete is the ORT, or odor recognition test, where your dog simply has to prove it can identify the odor. In fact, this weekend all three of my dogs are taking their ORTs in Wisconsin! Stay tuned next month and I'll tell you about the test, how we did, and what sort of local and regional opportunities you have to learn more. In the meantime, if you can't wait and have questions, please email me, and I'll be glad to share: jo@pearson.info. |
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Thanks again for your interest in our dog parks, and we'll look forward to seeing you at the park!
Sincerely,
K9COLA Board of Directors
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