Doggy Olympics - 2pm Saturday 26th April
Ark Vets will be running a Doggy Olympics competition in support of National Pet Month. We are trying to find the smartest, fastest, and best trained dog and owner in the area. If you think that could be you, come down the the surgery on Saturday 26th and enter some of the events below. There are prizes for the top 3 places including a large bag of hills dog food, a free vaccination, and a free training class (donated by Harry O'Neil a local dog trainer and ex police dog handler). Also, during the afternoon, dogs can be microchipped for £10 and information on and dog and car safety will be available.
The events will each cost £1 to enter, and any money raised will be donated to a local dog charity. There will also be refreshments available. We will be open at 1pm and remember the Olypmics start at 2pm.
- Musical Downs Dog equivalent to musical chairs. Every time the music stops, you must place your dog in the "down position", the last dog to lie down is eliminated. The last 5 dogs remaining are awarded points.
- Heel work Demonstrating the owner ability to keep their dog focused on them while walking around. The best 5 dogs will be awarded points.
- Race to recall You will recall your dog from a fixed distance, showing your ability to control your dog off the lead. The fastest 5 dogs to return to and sit in front of their owners will be awarded points.
- Agility course A timed assault course, demonstrating how well you work as a team with your dog. The 5 fastest times will be awarded points.
- Elimination to stimuli An elimination round, where you have to keep your dogs attention focused on you while all kinds of exciting distractions are occurring all around. The last 5 dogs will be awarded points.
Microchipping for £10
Microchipping a dog is a great way of reducing the number of animals that are lost or end in in rehoming centres every year. One quick injection and your animal will be instantly traceable for life. Anyone who would like their dog chipped on the day can do so for a fee of £10.
Car safety & dogs
During the afternoon there will be information available on how to keep you and your dog safe in car. An unrestrained dog in the car can be a distraction to the driver, making the chance of an accident much greater, but also if you do have an accident, and crash at 30mph, anything that is unrestrained will hit the front seat, and anyone in it, with a force of between 30 and 60 times its weight. For a 30kg Labrador, this is a force of over 1 ton, not good for the driver or the dog. The only way to prevent this is to either have a specially fitted cage which is bolted to the car (thus stopping the whole cage being flung forwards), or to use a special dog harness which locks into your normal seat belts and uses the locking mechanism of the seatbelt if you break sharply.