The days are shorter but our pups still need exercise and the company sure is nice. Anyone interested in wearing a headlamp and taking our dogs on a walk around Lake Elkhorn on a weeknight at 630? I was thinking we would meet in the parking lot by the Giant and walk through the tunnel over to the lake - there's better lighting for parking over there.

AKC's Canine Good Citizen® (CGC) Program is a certification program that is designed to reward dogs who have good manners at home and in the community. Items on the CGC Test: 1 Accepting a friendly stranger 2 Sitting politely for petting 3 Appearance and grooming 4 Out for a walk (walking on a loose lead) 5 Walking through a crowd 6 Sit and down on command and Staying in place 7 Coming when called 8 Reaction to another dog 9 Reaction to distraction 10 Supervised separation I have contacted a local CGC evaluator who will test/evaluate our dogs for a fee of $10 to $15 per dog. A portion of the proceeds will go to a resue supported by the evalutor. Please note that Fido does not need any formal obedience or CGC classes to take the test. The test takes about 7 to 10 minutes, and will be in either Jan or Feb 2009. Please let us know if you're interested. For additional info about CGC, please visit: www.akc.org/events/cgc/index.cfm

Darkness is getting in the way of our Thursday after-work walks! We'll still schedule walks on weekends, but wanted to see how many people might be interested in daytime walks during the week. If you are, please indicate days/times that would work for you. Please check all that apply.

I have been talking with a Red Cross instructor about offering a class in first-aid for dogs. A class would run about 3 hours and would cover choking, muzzling, safely approaching, CPR, rescue breathing, heat and cold injuries, pet first aid kits, disaster evacuation supplies, etc. The cost would be about $35 and would go to the Red Cross. I think it’s important to have as much knowledge as possible about proper care, and know that you can act when you need to and not panic. We had an incident with Riley a little while ago, and fortunately Richard moved quickly and was able to do a Heimlich maneuver. A small food particle was blocking his airway. I will move forward with plans if the response is positive.

We are in the planning stages of a Halloween party at Lake Elkhorn. We'd like to get a rough count of the number of folks interested in the idea and available to attend. This is not an official RSVP at this point. Once we determine interest, we'll pull the details together and post an official notice on our calendar. There will likely be a small per person fee involved to cover expenses.