Howl-o-ween Fest 2009

A few weeks ago, my boss forwarded me an email newsletter from the subdivision she lives in. The park in that subdivision was hosting an event for dogs. Howl-o-ween Fests 2009 was a brand new event put on in conjunction with the Houston Canine Frisbee Disc Club's Space City Disc Dog Championships UFO Major & UFO World Championships.

I know not many of you are familiar with the small but big sport of disc dog, but this is a big deal competition. The competition was ongoing amid other activities (a Dog Dancing Demo, Dock Diving, Narcotics Dog demonstration, dogs dressed up to participate in a Halloween costume parade, not to mention vets, vendors, groomers, training groups...).

I actually had the opportunity to talk with a representative from the club.
He approached us, believe it or not. Kevin and I were standing back, waiting for the next disc event to start (having already toured some of the other attractions & made our way thus far), and he came up to us, Frisbee in hand, and asked if Kansas and Leo were a couple of disc dogs. I explained that we were very amateur, with only some backyard experience/experiments. He held the disc out for the dogs to sniff, which really impressed me, as it turned out to be a great tool with which he was then able to meet & greet my dogs easily. We talked a little bit about where we were located, where the disc club meets, and how I was aware of it but hadn't yet made the effort to take advantage of such a great opportunity/outlet right at my fingertips. He invited us to stop by the park where they regularly meet, and then talked a bit about the park we were at. He said that the neighborhood we were in had been really great about volunteering to sponsor events, and had asked him to bring another Frisbee event to them, and that was when he had suggested they make it a bigger event by adding other dog activities and getting the public interested.

Hence Splashdogs Dock Diving competition.
The real competition was from 3-5 pm, but the time prior to the event was when preregistered contestants were allowed their "practice runs". Dock Diving measures the distance a dog can jump from the dock before landing in the water. A lure is made use of, to get the dog excited and then reward him with. We saw lots of very good contestants, and also a lot of people who just wanted to give their dogs a chance to try it. Big dogs, little dogs, breeds, mixes... Regarding the dogs just out there for fun, the poor critters were sure stumped when their humans would try to convince them to "stay" at the far end of the dock, then call them, and at the last minute throw a beloved disc, ball or bumper into the lake and expect the dog to jump after it. Plenty of dogs very much indicated "Why the hell did you just throw my best toy in there?! Hell NO I AM NOT going in there after it!"

Leo really wanted to try his hand at it, and he and Kansas were just itching to go swimming, but as I hadn't thought there would be so much lake access (several bigger and smaller man-made lakes/ponds and plenty of people letting their dogs off-leash to romp), I didn't bring the longer leads that would have allowed them to swim a bit while we stayed on the shore.





Mike, the Belgian Malinois, performing his narcotics detection demonstration.
His handler explained Mike is trained to "passive alert" (in the form of a "sit") when he finds the substance (he's trained to identify 5 different scents so far). He is ONLY a detection dog, they don't use him for any other K-9 work. He scans the area, and then checks out each individual item, sometimes needing a little coaching from his handler to investigate each possible container. When he finds the item he is seeking, he sits beside it to alert his handler of the find. Then he gets rewarded with some playtime with his favorite toy.







The other big event for us was the disc competition.
We were able to catch a segment from the Toss & Catch (also called Toss & Fetch) event.
The dog has one minute to make as many catches of the disc as he/she can, racing down the field to snag the disc out of the air (extra points earned for jumping up to catch the disc) before it hits the ground. The field is marked with different distances, and points are awarded based on how far the disc and dog are when the catch is made. There is also a bonus area that earns extra points. Every time the dog brings the disc back, it is thrown again. Speed is desired, just as much as flawless catches, but with the point system the way it is, it really is anybody's game. The first few participants weren't familiar to me, and may or may not have been as experienced as others. I say this based only on my own observation. Good efforts were made overall.












We were just about to walk around a bit more when I started hearing names I recognized being announced as upcoming competitors. Big names in the world of disc. Names of people I know/have watched via YouTube. I deleted my YouTube account back in March, and haven't kept up with anybody this season, so it didn't even occur to me that some of them might be here, though it was a major competition and a big city and well-known disc club. It never crossed my mind that somebody I might "know" from the internet would be at a dog thing I attended. We stayed to watch & I got to see Julia & Lara (all the way from Germany!) compete, as well as Danny Eggleston with Guinan, and Chuck Middleton &Bling Bling. I was kind of blown away by the simple fact that I was there, in the presence of such.




We took another turn past the Dock Diving activities, where an errant lab, ecstatic over the opportunity to play off-leash in the water, jumping off the dock and retrieving "forgot" his manners and training momentarily, and raced up to us, greeting first Kansas, then Leo, then out-of-control with excitement, came back and stressed Kansas out a bit, then collided with Leo (that didn't go over well) before finally coming back to his senses and back under the control of his people.

Interestingly enough, one of the former disc competitors was just behind us, also off-leash, about to cool off in the lake, and his human actually grabbed him and picked him up, holding onto him until confirming "IS THAT LAB BACK ON IT'S LEASH?!"
I guess there might have been trouble if she hadn't acted so quickly.



Kansas and Leo really enjoyed the rare opportunity to be outdoors, which they don't get much of right now, aside from their daily walks. They were happy to just stand, sit and lie in the sun, observing the goings on. I had been a bit concerned about whether or not they would behave in a crowd of people, dogs and kids, the latter two sometimes being dressed up in costumes. But they did beautifully! It really is a blessing that dogs experience the world through their noses. Other than pulling on the leashes, due to their interest and focus on sniffing EVERYTHING, we had no problems. Even when my boss found us and approached with her young daughter in a stroller (we have zero experience with strollers, and encounters with neighborhood kids' wheeled toys have not been all that great) they were cool! They sniffed my boss' hands hello, and sniffed her 3-year-old daughter politely. Kansas loved that the girl was spilling just as much of the box of Nerds as she was consuming, and happily rid the sidewalk of tiny pink candies. Not much attention was even paid to other dogs, except that small dogs (which are always a curiosity) and puppies (which they both LOVE) were greeted cheerfully.

Leo even charmed one of the humans from the Dog Dancing demonstration (they did the routine to "Thriller", 8 or 10 ladies performing the choreography while their dogs executed turns, weaves through the legs and other basic movements. It went over really well, actually). She approached and actually asked if it was ok if she pet him, and then went through all the correct steps of crouching down, turning her body to the side, allowing him to approach and sniff her and just being really nonthreatening until he let her pet him under his chin. It was very sweet. She even pet Kansas after that, and Kansas actually hammed it up and loved on her quite a bit!

We didn't take any pics of the dressed up dogs or the parade, but we saw plenty of dogs: in pink pjs, a yorkie puppy in a pumpkin tutu, a terrier mix in a pink raincoat and hat, a dog wearing a hotdog costume, one dressed like a catepillar, one with a spider "hat" (thought it was antlers, at first...), dogs in t-shirts, in ruffled court jester-type collars...

The oddest thing was, though they observed the Dock Diving eagerly, the Frisbee and Narcotics detection events were not studied. While Kevin and I were watching (and I was hoping my dogs were taking notes re: Frisbee) they preferred to turn and sit or lie down facing AWAY from the entertainment, viewing the crowd, watching the approach of other dogs... I guess they were watching our backs. I forget they tend do to that.

We departed at 2:00, though the festivities were scheduled until 5:00.
It was such a great time! An awesome experience!
I'd like to go back tomorrow for the last day of Disc competition, and maybe take the longer leashes so these two pooped pooches can swim...




Photos courtesy of my husband, as usual.