K9 Kompany christmas party 2008

Yesterday we attended the end-of-year party at K9 Kompany in Lilydale. It was great fun.
Penny was awarded second prize for doing tricks - weaving around my legs in a figure of eight.





We didn't enter the dress-up competition, because Penny shakes off any 'human' items if we try to put them on her.

The winners looked good, though!



I had great hopes for the 'Gambler's Agility' - in this game you race around the agility course, scoring points of different value, depending which activity you choose. The score goes back to zero if you choose an activity that the dog refuses - that's the gamble. Penny, as usual, did everything that was asked of her, so we should have done well - except that she did the weave poles in slow motion. Really s-l-o-w motion. Oh well, at least we gave the onlookers a good laugh.



We both had a great time. Here we are, laughing together.

dogs at the Lilydale show

In the last post I mentioned that Penny took part in a demonstration by K9 Kompany at the Lilydale Show today. It was a tiring day because she participated in four sessions, but her tail was still wagging at the end of the day, so I'd say she had a great time.

Here she is showing 'stand calmly for a vet's examination', one of the items from Ideal Dog.



We enjoyed All Sports, which is a mix of tricks, obedience and agility. Penny loves the seesaw and it was great to have so many turns on it.

dogs train for film work

Today the K9 Kompany presented a series of demonstrations for the public at the Lilydale show.

Penny and I took part in two types of demonstration - Ideal Dog of Australia and All Sports.

But we were onlookers at the highlight of the day, Animal Actors, because we're not in that class.

It was interesting to see how the tricks we're learning in All Sports could be developed into film work. Cindy and two students demonstrated that dogs need to learn to do tricks at a distance because the trainer can't be visible in the film.

A small piece of tape on the floor marked the nearest point the trainer was allowed to approach the dog during filming. I've taken a shot here from a different angle, showing the trainer's hand at right - you can see the dog watching her.



The story behind the filming was that Cindy was reading the paper and the dogs would try to get her attention. One of the dogs jumped up on the couch with her, barked and laid its head on her leg. When all this failed, it pushed a roller across in front of her.




In this shot the trainer is not in view - this is how the shot would appear in a film.