Monday, April 20, 2015

Northwest Pet Fair

Zoe & Phee with their Pet Fair Haul

On Sunday I took the girls to the Northwest Pet & Companion Fair. I posted the picture above on my social media with a caption that said "We survived the Northwest Pet Fair!" This was the first big event that we've been to where I was solo with both dogs. I was actually sort of nervous about taking them by myself, I'm not sure why. I take them places together by myself all the time but expo type situations kind of make me nervous.


We were really excited to see Kathi from Galaxy Dog Treats, I did a review for her a while back and the girls love her treats. We also got tons of samples from other vendors. It was a good experience for Phoenix, especially since there was someone at every booth ready to hand her a cookie. She was pretty pleased with that and because everyone around every corner was handing her cookies, she wasn't worried about them! It was a great "counter conditioning to people" opportunity. 

I'm proud to say that both girls did really good. Phoenix did really well with her on leash greetings with passing dogs. They were being so good that I decided to stay and watch a "Shaping" (dog training) demo. There were a bunch of people in the audience but only two of us (another woman and myself) were answering the trainer's questions.

"Mom, this training demo is boring!" Zoe says.

The girls were a little bit antsy during the demo. They caused a mild disturbance during the demo part of the demo. The trainer decided to show how shaping works by teaching a human volunteer to walk around a chair. The volunteer was like a border collie trying a bunch of things at once and acting a little bit weird and it caused both of my dogs to whine and bark a bit at her. They don't think humans should be that weird. Luckily, the audience laughed and it was great comedic timing. I got their attention back on me and they went back to settling. I will be honest, I laughed, too. It was pretty funny.

I'm finding that when I go to these sort of events, I need to find a quiet corner and get them both to do some tricks and whatnot before jumping in and walking around. They do so much better when I get their attention on me and they calm right down after performing some behaviors they know. I think also letting them take it all in before wandering helps, too. I'm really glad they did well because we have an even bigger event we're going to in May.


After we were done at the event we found a green space outside the expo center and played for a little bit before going home. Phee decided this would be an excellent time to climb a tree. She's about 6 feet up and I helped her with the dismount. :)


We had a great experience at the Pet Fair and I'm really glad that I went despite my husband not being able to come. I'm looking forward to going again next year!


14 comments:

  1. It is great that you had such a nice time. Love the pictures of Phoenix in the tree. :)

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  2. I love going to these types of festivals. Great tip about finding a quiet spot to occasionally take a break from it all and let your dogs relax or take things in before jumping right into the chaos. I'm glad you had a great time going it alone this time! :)

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  3. you should be so proud that they did so well! You are an amazing trainer! Hoping the "big event in May" is BlogPaws!

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    1. Thank you! I wish we were going to blog paws but it's too expensive. The event we are going to in May is Doggie Dash. :)

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  4. Nice to hear that it was a good experience! I still haven't worked up the courage to bring Chewy to a pet expo because all the dogs everywhere might be a bit overwhelming, but treats around every corner does seem like it could be fun for him!

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  5. Was the shaping seminar useful? I meant to try to go to that but didn't make it.

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  6. That's so exciting!
    I'm not that brave yet to take both dogs to a people filled event. Dante is still working on controlling his excitement to meet other dogs on leash (he tries to drag me over to say hi), and Ziva we're still working on reactivity stuff...
    I can do it with one dog though!

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  7. That sounds like such a fun time! I wish we had any sort of pet events around here.

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  8. It's great that the two, including Phoenix, had such fun! She's really coming along, isn't she? I suspect that Shyla couldn't handle that scene yet... but I'm not sure.

    My dogs also get crazy when humans behave oddly. Shyla had a "meltdown" because a person was doing cartwheels on a grassy field in a park. That was a year ago. I wonder if she's learned what silly creatures we are yet!

    What a great success for you and the girls!

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    1. Yeah, she really is! It's only taken 2.5 years. :) She's been to these sorts of events before and done okay but with stress. This time she was a bit nervous but settled down more quickly.

      Also, I am okay with them noticing people acting weird and being a little protective, especially because of where we live, you just never know who's around the next corner.

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  9. I'm glad you had such success at the fair! I don't think Barley will ever be able to handle an event like that (or at least not where we can both enjoy it). If there are other dog owners who are dividing their attention between talking to people and paying attention to their dogs, then I have to be 100% focused on Barley and dogs that might try to say hi while their owners aren't looking, which means I miss out on the fun of interacting with the other humans. Barley would love being in a room full of people to give her attention, though--she loves when I am brave enough to take her into Petsmart and she can convince the cashier to give her 1000 treats while I pay and she befriended all of the little old men fishing at the reservoir on our latest adventure; she practically demands attention from any human within her sight. It's just the attention from other dogs that she finds unnecessary :)

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  10. Good girls! I've been surprised sometimes how well my dogs do in crowded situations, too. Makes me feel bad for doubting them. :)

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  11. Sounds like a blast!!!
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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