MINDEMOYA–The North Shore and Island Kennel Club (NSIKC) is hosting a dog sport demonstration and Canine Good Neighbour testing this Saturday, June 8 starting at 11 am at the Lions Pavilion in Mindemoya.
“This will be our first club event,” explained NSIKC member Kristine Kiviaho of Elliot Lake. “We have a member from Manitoulin Island, Mary Anderson of the Bowwow Inn, which is why we decided to host the event on the Island.”
The day will kick off with an agility demonstration at 11 am in the baseball field put on by the Sudbury and District Kennel Club (SDKC).
“We decided to invite the SDKC to do agility demonstrations to help encourage people to get involved with their animals,” said Ms. Kiviaho, adding that the NSIKC is still a relatively new club and does not have agility equipment just yet.
“At noon we will be doing Canine Good Neighbour testing (CGN),” continued Ms. Kiviaho. “The testing will be open to all dogs, but pre-registration is required. The fee is $30, which will include a CGN badge and a certificate from the Canadian Kennel Club for owners whose dogs successfully complete the test.”
Ms. Kiviaho explained that though the club is not associated with the Canadian Kennel Club, she and another member are qualified to oversee the testing.
“It is a 12-stage test in which the dogs are required demonstrate a number of commands and they must pass all 12 elements or they fail the whole test,” added Ms. Kiviaho.
Concluding the event will be obedience and dog sport demonstrations at 2 pm.
“Mary (Ms. Anderson) does dog carting with his dogs so that will be one of the dog sports demonstrations,” said Ms. Kiviaho. “It’s quite neat to see.”
Other than the CGN testing, the NSIKC event is free and spectators and dog owners alike are invited to attend.
We would love people to come out to our event to see a variety of activities you can do with your dog,” concluded Ms. Kiviaho. “Our dogs are part of our families and we enjoy training with them. We believe that a well-trained dog is welcome anywhere and that training should be fun.”
For more information, visit the North Shore and Island Kennel Club on Facebook or email Ms. Kiviah at Kris@inoth.on.ca.