by Cathy Hughes
The world of the pet dog has certainly experienced a great expansion recently. Twenty-plus years ago, if the “training bug” hit you while attending a pet manners class, the limitations for advanced training included obedience and tracking for the most part. Hunting, herding, lure coursing and Schutzhund were available if you had a talented dog from a specialized breed and you lived near someone who could share his or her expertise in those fields. Nowadays a graduate of a basic obedience class has the choice of going on to agility, freestyle, flyball, rally, Frisbee freestyle … the list is growing as you read this … in addition to the aforementioned sports. There are even some pet dogs that have made it to commercials, print ads or the movies. Classes for all of these disciplines are more readily available than in the past. Read the rest of this entry »