A brief glimpse of the sport Canine Freestyle

I've had a lot of comments regarding my vlog - specifically on my zumba-ing Border Collie. Because of this I thought I'd take a break on talking about writing and, instead, talk about my other passion: dog training.

I didn't really know what Canine Freestyle was when, ten years ago, I signed up for a workshop taught by the master of the sport - Caroline Scott. Really, I was looking for another class I could offer but what I found was a whole lot of fun. Here's a glimpse of the master and her dog Rookie--who has since gone over the Rainbow Bridge-- (If you don't know what the Rainbow Bridge is, you can google the poem, but I'm warning you, YOU WILL BAWL LIKE A BABY!) at work:



Really puts me and my feeble attempts to shame. One of the things I like best about Canine Freestyle is how much fun my dogs have. I've competed in a lot of dog sports (obedience, agility, shutzhund, etc) and I always notice a bit of anxiety in my dogs behavior before we enter the ring - I swear they get as nervous as I do. This has never been the case with freestyle. My dogs seem to have a blast from beginning to end.

Another exciting thing about Freestyle is that the limits to what you can do are endless. If you really want your mind blown watch this:



Sure, it's a little dorky (I mean, the guy is wearing socks with his sandals, come on!) But there's no denying the level of training here pushes what we've thought capable of canine learning. Simply amazing. (Also, coincidence that this dog is a Border Collie? I think not. But, hey, I'm biased :) )