DOG DAYS OF SUMMER!

I see that it's been over 2 months since my last post. Yikes! The time has flown by. It's been a very busy summer this year with our different classes meeting Monday-Thursday evenings, my husband trying to keep our trees alive in the drought, and our 2 sons being home and keeping us aggravated (and doing laundry) all summer. We're continuing with flyball class, and the 4 of us that are taking it are really enjoying it-- the instructor says all 4 dogs are "getting it" very quickly and doing exceptionally well. I understand there's a waiting list to take flyball at Paw Power Blues Dog Training Club in Lowell, and I have been disappointed that some of them haven't come here to take from our instructor, who has been teaching flyball for 5 years, has taken instruction from nationally-respected trainers, and who owns two dogs with Flyball Master Champion titles! I've advertised more than ever this summer, and I appreciate the students that we do have... We've purchased a "dome" for some extra shade in the small dog area, but have been unable to put it up with the stormy weather lately. These hot days are very quiet at the dog park, and we only see dogs and their people out there early in the morning and late in the evening. They've started the first house in the dreaded housing development across the street, and this has been the dustiest dirtiest summer in our history out here with all the dry dirt clouds flying around. At least it gives us a good excuse not to wash the windows!

As summer draws to an end, we are thinking of our fall plans. On Sunday, September 16th, we're planning another Responsible Dog Ownership Day event. We hope to have a dog photographer here, as well as adoption opportunities from some area Rescue organizations. As always, we'll have obedience and agility demonstrations from our instructors and friends. I'd love to hear any ideas or requests that our members may have about what else we can do on that occasion. Last year, the Times newspaper got our dates wrong, and the event was quite a dud. The previous year, combined with our hurricane Katrina fund raiser, we had lots of dogs and people. We certainly want to support responsible dog ownership, and also show how CCC is another wonderful option for responsible dog owners! We're also planning a "Dogtober Fest" celebration of some sort, since we've had a request from some of our members for a Dachshund Dash! This looks like a cute idea, and we'll be researching other similar races for how to proceed. No date has been set yet, although it will probably be in the middle of the month, on a weekend. We'll try to include the community and will be requesting volunteers from CCC to help officiate the event(s). Again, if our members have any ideas and/or requests, we'd love to hear from you. I'll be trying to post to the blog a bit more often as summer ends and life gets less hectic (hopefully) in our household.

CCC OPEN MEMORIAL DAY, MAY 28TH

Remember the men and women who are now serving and have served in our armed forces....

MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY

As we wait for the rain to clear out of here this weekend, I wanted to take a moment to catch up here on the blog. We want to thank all our members for being more vigilant the past few months in regard to the doggie doodie situation. The head maintenance man has been happy with the noticeable improvement, and that makes life more pleasant for all of us involved with CCC! Before I leave this topic completely, I wanted to mention that, after 4 1/2 years, we have removed the protective fences from around the arbor vitaes in the small dog area. This speeds up the mowing process tremendously. These bushes are unable to handle urine from our big male DOG members...so we must ask large (male) dog owners to please avoid taking your pooches into the SDA if possible. For time-outs or a separation area, the first choice is the training yard. This is another area where we are trying to minimize urination, and especially marking on the agility obstacles. The marking distracts the dogs taking classes, since they want to sniff the obstacles and the grass. I consulted with Pet Supplies Plus and have purchased a spray that is supposed to eliminate the urine scent. It is a spray called "Simple Solution," and it, or another spray called "Nature's Miracle" will be located in the storage trunk in the training yard. Please exercise your dogs in the main park before going into the training yard, if possible. If your dogs do hike their legs on the obstacles, please spray the odor eliminator on that area. We appreciate your help and cooperation with this.

The training yard is available for use by our CCC members any time, and is also available to rent for non-members. There is little activity so far, but we expect it to be picking up. Some of our members will be using the training yard exclusively. If it is occupied, always check for a sign on the door, or check with the occupant before entering from the park. If we begin to have problems with more than one person wanting to use the TY at the same time, we will institute a sign-up sheet. Our Tuesday night conformation class has started, and beginning June 4th, we will be holding classes essentially Monday-Thursday evenings from 6:00-8:00 p.m. There are still spots available in all of our classes, and CCC members receive a discount on class fees. Please see our website's NEWS page for schedules, class descriptions, and instructor bios. All classes are reward-based and taught using positive reinforcement, and all are great ways to enhance the bond between the owners and their dogs.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Happy Mother's Day! It's the first of many for CCC new mothers Maureen Dickenson (& daughter Clementine) and Suzanne Chick (& son Enrico). Congratulations to both families on the happy arrivals.
At the CCC, I've been up to my ears in computer/paperwork. I can never quite catch up--I'm still working on classes and schedules--I get class descriptions and bios from the instructors, do some editing, and send them to our daughter in CA, who does the website. This is the last week to sign up for the first session, which is hopefully starting next week--except for Flyball, which won't start for another month. We've got a lot of ball-loving dogs at CCC--I urge you all to consider taking this fun class, as well as the others we're having. Speaking of educational matters, my dog park discussion group recommended a great new book called "Visiting the Dog Park, Having Fun, Staying Safe," by Cheryl S. Smith. It is published by Dogwise and is available for $12 from www.dogwise.com . The book is short, has pictures, and is loaded with good information. I'm just starting to read it, and I ordered a couple of extra copies that I'm willing to loan out. There is lots of new information in the media about dog behavior and dog parks. I think that we can all say that the park has been a learning experience--and we're all still learning. I'm hopeful that all of us will make an effort to learn as much as we can to help us understand our dogs better, and make the park safer as well as more fun! Please make any suggestions regarding demonstrations, speakers, clinics, or educational experiences that you'd like to participate in this summer.
That's one of the things we'd like to do with the training yard this summer. More about the training yard in the next post..............coming soon!

SUMMER FUN CLASSES ***

Boy, I sure wish I knew how to use the computer.... As the tiny bulletin (that I wanted to be full size) says, we are now enrolling for our 5th season of Summer Fun Classes. Because of the changes made recently to the small dog area and training yard, we are able to offer more classes than we have in the past. We hope to start classes the week of May 14th. We will be offering Novice Rally and Flyball for the first time. We're very excited to be the only facility in Porter County offering these popular classes. We're also pleased to be offering the area's only Outdoor Conformation training. My dog show friends tell me that in the summer, many of the competitions are held in outdoor arenas, and many dogs get shaken up by that, not being accustomed to being shown outside. We're offering a Puppy Good Start class as well as a Beginning Manners (basic obedience) class this season. Of course our Agility classes (Beginning and Intermediate) become more popular each year. CCC members get first choices and discounts on all of our classes, and class size is kept relatively small. Please call us at 548-3604, or email contact@cccdogpark.com to reserve your place in class. Very soon, our website will also have detailed class descriptions and bios of all of our instructors.

SUMMER FUN CLASSES

CHANGES/IMPROVEMENTS AT THE PARK

By now, many of you have seen the new small dog area. Of course, some fine-tuning is still needed--the gate latches don't fit properly and have been filed off sharply (be careful with the small dog one), and the fence south of the service gate is too high off the ground--our little Ziggy can get under it. Of course, the fence folks were supposed to be here today (the 13th), to make some adjustments and reinforce the main entrance gate so it doesn't spread apart when the ground freezes. Very soon we will be adding a garbage can and water to the area. The training yard is now locked from the outside, and will be used for the classes that we're in the process of organizing that will start in May. I've just posted the classes we're offering on the bulletin board... I hope you will consider taking a class or two with your dogs this summer. All the classes will be taught using treats and positive reinforcement--I've tried several of them and have had good fun. I'm looking forward to the flyball class--maybe we can get a CCC team together...Actually, an advanced beginner's agility class started today (Wednesday). It's the first time we've started this early.
Now, we have some other new developments at the park! The lattice is meant to prevent high speed jumping up on the porch, and to slow the dogs down while they're on there. Most of them will quickly figure out that the only way onto the porch is at the steps or the west end. We're asking our members to restrict their dogs' activities while on the porch. No running, wrestling, or romping, and please discourage leg lifting. We have 5 acres for those fun things. Some of our more "unsteady" members and visitors use the porch for a home base, and the lattice is meant to make it safer and more secure for them and everybody. Please feel free tell us what you think--if it's positive ;-). We recently discovered that the pop in our machine froze and exploded during the cold spell in February. According to people that know about such things, this is very unusual in our area of the country. Today Joe, the handy man cleaned up the sticky mess, and tomorrow we will restock the machine--just in time for the warm weather. (It's just around the corner) My next post will discuss some ideas I have for the training yard, and the classes that we're getting ready for. ***By the way, if you don't wish to register when you reply on this blog, just click "anonymous" and registration is not required. If you wish to say who you are in the body of your message, you can do so. Thanks, ttyl

SAME S*#*, DIFFERENT DAY

Well, our resident " pooperazzi" is at it again! We checked our entry gate transactions tonight. With this awful weather, we had only 11 owners visit the park today, some more than once. This number included a few new members... It's very difficult to believe that this prominent pile at the inside gate to the training yard, and several smaller, less impressive ones were "overlooked" by those people today. What can we expect on a nice summer day when 60 people bring even more dogs to the park? Seriously, this sort of "crap" is taking a toll on my husband's mood and attitude, therefore making my life miserable. I am going to be watching more closely, and may have to start issuing warnings and expulsions--which I really don't want to do! Once more, I ask you all for your help. Please watch your dogs closely, and please pick up after them. If the occasion arises, pick up a stray poop. We know most of our members are very good about this, and we do appreciate it. So, if you see an owner not picking up, please point it out to them, or to us, if necessary. We need your help to keep our park nice and clean. OK, I'm getting off my soap box and into bed.

SPRING BREAK HAS GONE TO THE DOGS!!!

Back in the day, we took our kids on vacation.... Now, look who we're taking! They're still cheaper to feed and they don't bicker nearly as much as the real thing! When we get back, we'll be diving in to get our classes organized for the spring. I would appreciate any ideas/requests that our members might have.... Also, we did sign the agreement with the fence company to change the small dog park as previously described, as well as to fix our entry gate once and for all... We're hopeful that will be done by the end of April. We'll see you soon.

OPENING ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

We are happy to announce that, barring any unforeseen rain, snow, sleet, or hail, CCC will be reopening at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 17th. HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY! You will see that the ground out there is still in delicate condition. Please step gingerly, and avoid the mushy areas as much as possible. As we get back out there to enjoy the spring, we've encountered a problem that must be brought to our members' attention. Before the park closed, and since the snow melted, we have had to clean up hundreds of tiny bits of shredded tennis balls. These include bits with small pieces of jagged hard plastic attached! Either multiple dogs are doing this, or a dog that comes very frequently is doing it. Regardless, it really needs to stop!
Please don't allow your dogs to shred the tennis balls--take them away! If your dog is tearing up tennis balls, he/she is bored, and has too much time on his hands--and frankly, too little supervision. Pick up any pieces of tennis balls that your dog does happen to chew up! This stuff can be sharp and is not easily digested by the dogs, not to mention that theses pieces are extremely difficult to pick up! If you notice this going on in the park, we ask that you speak to the dog owner or to us about the problem. This goes for any owners not picking up after their dogs. The dog park is supposed to be a "self-policing" area. Every time B has been out in the park he has found stray poop. Quite amazing, even after 3 weeks! Please help keep our park clean and safe for all our members, both canine and human!
All current members will receive an additional 3 weeks on their memberships to compensate for this inconvenience, even though it was caused by Mother Nature. As I have said before, this is only the second time in over 4 years that this has happened. Conditions have to be just right... Hopefully, this won't happen again any time soon. Welcome back, and thanks again for your patience and understanding.

THE TIME IS GETTING NEARER....

When we did our afternoon inspection today, the ground condition was much improved. The snow on the west end is finally gone, and there were no puddles where there were yesterday. We were hoping maybe after 1 more day.....Now with the rain and whatever else the night brings, I hope we haven't lost ground. We met with a fence contractor today about some of the improvements I'd mentioned earlier. We now await the estimate. We'll fix the entry gate once and for all, and relocate the small dog area. First, we need to get the park opened, so we can get some renewals and new members coming in to finance these improvements! It won't be long....

SO SORRY, IT'S STILL TOO SPONGY

We're sorry to say that the park still is not ready. Vast improvements have been made, but there's still snow on the west end, and it's still just too spongy throughout. The entrance, which has been one of the worst areas, has come a long way, but it's just not ready. It surely won't be long now..............We'll be in touch ;-(

GETTING WORSE BEFORE GETTING BETTER...

It seems the warm weather is about to arrive. I know you're all--rather, your dogs are all anxious to come back to the park! Yesterday, the sun alone caused the ground to turn mushy. Today, the snow and ice started to melt, and once again there are puddles in the park and parking lot, and the road is just wet. We hope there is little if any rain tomorrow, so that nature can do it's work out there. We have lots of work to do too. We both are hopeful that we can open on Tuesday. This weekend would be nice, but we're afraid that's just too optimistic. I'll keep you posted. Current members will be compensated for the days we have to be closed. No one is more anxious to reopen than I am, but we appreciate all our members' patience and understanding. Oh, Bob said to tell you that as the snow melts, it reveals all sorts of doggy doo-doo that had been hiding underneath! It's not exactly tulips...
We are talking to fence companies about making a few changes in the park. We're planning to move the small dog area to the NE corner of the park with a separate electronic entrance gate adjacent to the current one. The training yard will be locked from the outside, although still accessible from inside the park . If anyone has any ideas, or knows any reliable fence companies, please let us know. Speaking of training, we're planning the new season of classes. We're hoping to add a Rally Obedience class and we have a woman who contacted me and has experience teaching flyball! If there's enough interest, (and ability) maybe CCC can get a team together. Please let us know what you're interested in. All of our classes are offered to members first, at a discounted rate. When the training yard is freed up, we'll have more time for classes.
We're also going to investigate putting lattice or something under the railing on the porch--our concern is that some big rowdy dog is going to knock over one of our members on the porch! (Please try to have your dogs walk slowly and be calm if they're on the porch, and don't allow leg-lifting on the furniture up there.) We'll let you know what we think, and I hope you members will do the same. The first thing that needs to happen is for us to get back in business so we can get some renewals and new members coming in. Until next time....
think spring!!

SORRY, STILL CLOSED :-(

In spite of the cold, the sun has turned the park back in to mush... We hope for no more precipitation and some warmer weather. We are dismayed by the installation of a huge sign over the weekend announcing the sale of lots across the street from our house and to the north

(not the flooded corner) for the "Prairie Ridge" housing development... We Knew it had been approved a year or so ago, but had hoped they'd decided to postpone it. There are supposed to be 70 houses on 30 acres. Now's the time to move closer to the dog park!

OPENING PARK WHILE BELOW FREEZING THIS WEEKEND

We have checked the park and decided to open it this weekend only, while the temperature is below freezing. The park is about 1/3 ice, but it is solid. It is also very slippery, so please use extreme caution! We worry that if someone fell and couldn't get up, they truly could freeze to death out there! The training yard is a sheet of ice and is unusable. We will reclose the park on Sunday night, in the hope that we can reopen by next weekend. PLEASE BE CAREFUL!

NO GOOD NEWS TO REPORT

Well, the park has been closed for 7 days now, and each day seems worse than the last! The rain melted more snow, and there is water everywhere. Although it's not quite as bad as 2 years ago when we were closed for 3 weeks.....it's pretty bad. There are hundreds of branches of all sizes covering the dirty snow and mud that is our yard. Today it was so foggy for a while that you couldn't see 10 feet! If you can't tell, I've had enough of this winter....Judging from the weather forecast, our hope is to be open by the end of next week.... If the wind blows hard enough and we get a few days of sun, it could happen! We're sorry for this inconvenience, but you can't fool with mother nature.

CCC UNDER WATER & UNUSABLE

We hope that you all survived the ice storm last night without too much damage. As you can see, it didn't do much for the conditions at the dog park. We'll reopen as soon as possible, but it appears that it may be awhile..... In the mean time, we're having "fun" in our zoo-like house!

CCC DOGPARK CLOSED TEMPORARILY

Sorry, Members, but there's just too much mud and standing water. We locked the gates tonight and will be closed until further notice. We'll be checking conditions several times a day, and will reopen as soon as we can. Thanks for your understanding....

MELTING & MUDDY

Although we're happy to see the cold and snow disappear, we expect this whole process to be muddy and messy in the park. We have already decided that we will probably have to close the park for a while to avoid damage to the grassy areas that our pooches love so much. We will put a voice message on our phone and email as many of you as possible as soon as we do that, and we'll post it here. Please check before coming out this week!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Here we are nearing the middle of February! We were out of town for a few days last week, at a warm, beautiful location... We returned with a renewed spirit and enthusiasm for the CCC, our other jobs, and life in general. That spirit was dampened as we read the newspapers that we'd missed, and saw the article about Darrell Eichorn's daughter-a 37 year old woman battling cancer. Darrell is a member here with his (Golden Lab) dog, Maddie. There is a spaghetti dinner fundraiser for his daughter on Thursday from 4:30-7:30 at TJ Middle School. I'd like to encourage any of our members to attend this fundraiser if you're able to--you've gotta eat, right? Soon, I'll be posting again regarding some questions and suggestions that you have had about CCC as well as some thoughts and ideas that we've had about the place ;-). In the mean time, drive carefully and keep warm. Happy Valentine's Day!