Ch 8: K9 Games®
— The Ultimate Dog Show —
Over the past few years, television has gone to the dogs! Dogs have become more and more prominent in the media, movies and sitcoms. Puppy dogs have a proven “Ahhhhh!-factor” and are used to advertise numerous products from cars to beer. In England dogs even advertise toilet tissue! Dogs have everything. The time has come for dogs to advertise themselves!
Twenty years ago, I predicted, that dog events (especially Dog Dancing) would become the next big-money TV sport, in much the same way that Figure Skating (skating repetitive figures) has evolved into Ice Dancing. It is just begging to happen.
The K9 GAMES® is a fast-moving, fun-filled, action-packed, doggy extravaganza with puppies and dogs, children and adults all having a great time. Winning is only the tertiary reason for competition. The secondary reason for competition is to entice spectators to want to train their dogs the dog-friendly way. At all times K9 GAMES® competitors are ambassadors for dogs, and for dog-friendly dog training. The primary reason for competing is for people to have fun with their dogs. Indeed, laughter and giggles, and woofs and wiggles are the hallmark of the K9 GAMES®.
The K9 GAMES® bring back some sparkle, some excitement and razzle-dazzle to pet dog training, by providing an organized forum to motivate owners to want to train their dogs using easy and enjoyable, dog-friendly dog training techniques. All events are designed to improve the quality of the relationship between dogs and people and each individual event, (including doggy-dashes, retrieval races, woof relays and the signature event — doggy dancing), is specifically designed to fine-tune essential ingredients of a pet dog's training repertoire.
The K9 GAMES® showcases dog-friendly dog training — showing people having fun with their dogs and dogs having fun with their people. The K9 GAMES® provides educational entertainment to an ever-expanding audience, which is all but begging for more dog-related good times. People love to laugh. People and dogs love fun, action, athleticism, competition, excitement and family events. People are seduced by game shows and repetitive sporting activities. (In England, show jumping and sheep herding competitions are prime time viewing!) People even enjoy watching the variety of different breeds stand around and look pretty at conformation dog shows. The K9 GAMES® offers all of the above and much more.
The K9 GAMES® is a team competition with each team having a maximum of nine dogs and nine handlers. The teams compete in nine games: Musical Chairs, Doggy Dash, Kong Retrieve, Distance Catch, Take & Drop, Joe Pup Relay, Recall Relay, Woof Relay, and the K9 GAMES® signature event — Waltzes with Dogs
In the pursuit of proofing, reliability of performance and surprise in competition, K9 GAMES® Rules may be changed at any time during a competition and certainly, from event to event. The K9 GAMES® were initially held in 1995 at Fort Mason in San Francisco. In subsequent years they have been held in Long Beach (‘96), Upper Marlboro MD (’97), Toronto (’97, ’98 & ’99), England (’03, ’04 & ’05) and Japan (’05 ’06 ‘07).
