Needs Answering By Tomorrow; Quick!

[Buddy'smyboy]

Tomorrow there will be an event put on by the Humane Society where there will be agility courses, doggy experts, dog adoptions, meet'n'greets, ect. and my mom was wondering if I want to take Buddy there because my cousin Jill will be there all day and it would be fun for the whole family including the dog to go. I want to say "Yes!", but I think I should think about this first for his sake.
Being in the car will be stressful for him, and I am concerned with the huge amount of stimulation this event would consist of since we unfortunately do not get out to events like this (not that there ARE that many to begin with in the area but...). The agility courses would be fun, though I would have to be careful with him about jumping things since he has some mild problems in his hips that don't need to be agravated. My BIGGEST concern would be all the other dogs, really. If even one of the dogs worries him too badly or there was a confrontation, it could reinforce the slight nervousness he gets when he meets other dogs, not to mention potentially make the whole day unpleasant for him.
I am thinking, just simply because there may be so many dogs, the stimulation will be so big, and he hasn't had any events like this before, that I don't think I should take him. Instead I think I should go, take notes on all the things that involve events like this so I can know what to expect from them and try to build up his ability to tolerate these things. Taking notes on what the experts say and how the agility courses are set up will help me learn ideas to do this perhaps, as well as build homeade agility courses and teach him how to run them.
I know there are several people out there that know a little about Buddy from my posts, so what those people in particular think about this will help me especially, but I am open to anybody and everybody who has experience with these events and such. I just want to put what's best for him first

[emmabeth]

I think your instincts are probably right - the only way I would go is if you could put Buddy somewhere safe if he looked stressed, and since you say 'car' and not van.. (I have a van that has no windows so its a safe place to put dogs) AND Buddy doesnt really like the car too - I reckon its a no.

Plus, its REALLY hard work taking a dog who is likely to be stressed out, it means you won't get to see everything you want to see or talk to everyone you want to talk to. In addition, he is likely to shut down and not show obvious signs of stress - whilst YOU wil probably pick up on those I reckon your family won't and will just see him being good and quiet and think that means hes ok with it all.

So - go, find out all you want to find out, see how the event is run and then you will learn loads, and perhaps in future Buddy can go, but even if not you will have learned tons of useful stuff to bring home that will benefit Buddy.

[Nettle]

I think you are such a lovely DogMama for putting Buddy's needs first when you would so love to take him, but I agree that this time he is not ready and it would set you both back, because you don't have the choice of going home when Buddy's had enough. He would already be stressed when he arrived, from the car journey, and would have no Safe Place to de-stress. It would be a nightmare for him.

So thank your Mom for giving you the option, go on your own and have fun and look at everything going on through Buddy's eyes to think what he would be feeling when *this* happens and *that* happens. It will be very interesting for you.

[Buddy'smyboy]

Thanks guys! I kind of already thought not bringing him would be better, but I certainly didn't think asking for a second or third opinion would hurt, either. I'm actually all ready for going; I've got a handy little notebook and a list of things to try and find answers for written out (well, part of it's written out; the other part's still in my head since I thought about them going to sleep last night but didn't want to get up and write them down ). I'll update what I learned after we come back.

[Fundog]

Good for you, for putting Buddy's needs ahead of your "wants." Have a fantastic time, and be to share what you learned!

[Buddy'smyboy]

Had fun? Yes!
The event was very fun. We got there at the last 2-3 hours though so I think most of the things had gone on already , like the agility competitions. The most athletic thing we saw was weiner dog racing .There were a lot of things for the dogs to eat and there were a lot of dogs. I got two bones for him, and I gave him one when we got home and he had it eaten in less than twenty minutes ( I think we need to get him a Mammoth Bone Nothing else seems to last very long). There were a few times when dogs barked or didn't like each other when I thought, "Oh, Buddy probably wouldn't have liked that at all," but these were either dogs in the adoption cages barking (like chihuahuas) or dogs on leashes sniffing each other and there was a second or two of barking before moving on. The only thing I definitely said no to was the fenced in meet'n'greet area where the dogs get to be off leash since the dogs seemed to be the most rowdy there. It wasn't overly crowded either. I think that had we brought Buddy, it would have been pretty easy to keep him away from other dogs as everyone, including the dogs, were more interested in moving about and sniffing than each other mostly. That and there were treats at just about every stall There were also kiddie pools which I know he would have loved Lots of green open spaces to lay down in and relax, which many of them were doing.

Some training notes for Buddy I took based on what I saw were;
Be good walking closely on leash
Maintain focus on me
Practice meeting other dogs

Covering those three things would definitely set him up for success in events like this from my experience with it. He's doing good with the first two, although I could always step it up, while the third one would be the hardest since I don't know many people around here with dogs, all I know is a lot of people have dogs. Should we get the opportunity though, I think taking both dogs to a neutral location where neither of them can have any territorial disputes or, "hey, that's my tree/yard/rock, stay away grrrr!" episodes.
Regardless, I think this made a really good first time for me, since I've never been to events like this before and I'd definitely like to go again.

[misskris]

that's so neat! I wish they had those things in Hawaii...

Buddy will be so excited for you to "share" what you learned! He's lucky he has you!

[Buddy'smyboy]

that's so neat! I wish they had those things in Hawaii...

Buddy will be so excited for you to "share" what you learned! He's lucky he has you!

They don't have those things at all in Hawaii? Is the Humane Society there? If they aren't, then you should write to them to extend to Hawaii... no need to exclude the last state that joined the U.S.! Island dogs and cats need lovin' too!:)